With the Syracuse volleyball team already dominating its match against Colgate, junior outside hitter Mindy Stanislovaitis added the exclamation point early on in the third and final set.

After a pass from sophomore Hallie Morse, Stanislovaitis sent a rocket shot into the Raiders’ block. The ball smashed against a Colgate player’s face and sailed out of bounds, giving the Orange a 9-5 lead that they never came close to relinquishing.

Morse, Stanislovaitis, and sophomore Erin Little proved they could step up and play a pivotal role for the Orange, who romped through a quick 3-0 victory over Colgate on Tuesday in Manley Field House. The trio adds even more depth to an already loaded Syracuse squad that typically rotates at least 10 of its 14 players into game action.

Although Stanislovaitis started the second set for the Orange, Little and Morse didn’t enter the match until the third. But once all three were on the court, they made the most of their playing time.

Morse played the entire set at the setter position. She dished out 16 assists and made some tricky touches to keep the ball away from the net. She also caught Colgate off-guard late in the game, dumping the ball over the net instead of setting up a teammate for an attack.

‘It was nice to see that she could step in after having sat two games,’ SU assistant coach Carol LarMarche said. ‘And she performed right away so that was definitely a confidence booster for her and for us as coaches.’

Little played her best game all season. Starting the final set with two of SU’s first four points, she didn’t look back from there. Little finished with six attacks in the game, all of which resulted in kills for a 1.000 hitting percentage.

Stanislovaitis played the most out of the three, and finished the night with four kills, a dig and a block assist. Her highlights came in the form of a diving dig and the shot that connected with a Red Raider player’s face.

‘Mindy’s physical level is picking up every week,’ LaMarche said. ‘She’s right there to step in and be productive if Annabelle (Pellerin) is having an off day.’

LaMarche was glad to see the three players get into the match and get some quality playing time. She said all three played very well and showed that the team had more depth than the coaches had originally thought.

Practicing against players such as Hayley Todd and Sarah Morton -current national and all-time SU record holder for solo blocks- has evidently helped the progression of SU’s younger players.

‘They’re great blockers, so it’s hard to see anyone in a game that’s much better than them,’ Stanislovaitis said. ‘It’s definitely good to practice on them.’

Although there were clearly some bright spots in all three players’ game, inexperience did show from time-to-time. Morse was called for a double contact late in the game. Little watched a ball she thought was heading out of bounds land just inside the court’s boundary. And Stanislovaitis had two hitting errors.

But overall, the good outweighed the bad. LaMarche had mentioned earlier this year that depth had been an issue during the 2008 season for the Orange. She and head coach Jing Pu have played around with the lineup numerous times this year in an effort to see how they can get more players in-game action.

All fourteen players on the roster saw playing time against Colgate. Thirteen players were involved in at least one point for the Orange, whether it was a kill, an assist, or a dig to keep play alive.

Morse, Stanislovaitis, and Little don’t always get to say they had a hand in an SU victory. But on Tuesday night, all three could say they made a good contribution for the Orange.

And for Little, the best part about the match was the opportunity she had to get some valuable time on the court.

‘It was fun,’ she said. ‘Coach talked to me before the game and said to relax and have fun. That’s what I went into it like, and it was fun.’

zjbrown@syr.edu

Published on October 6, 2009 at 12:00 pm