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In the first set of Syracuse volleyball’s 2021 season, outside hitter Viktoriia Lokhmanchuk spun and dove with one fist to save a vicious Buffalo spike. The audience in the Women’s Building gasped in amazement before roaring for the junior from Ukraine. No one could believe that Lokhmanchuk, the tallest player on the team, was able to dive that quickly to save the point.

That dig led to an Orange score to put the team up 15-12, their first lead of more than 2 points this match. The momentum shifted after that play, as Buffalo never got within two points again in that set.

Lokhmanchuk’s quick reaction time proved an advantage later in the match when she swiftly dove, again sending one fist to the ball for a successful dig. After that, there were about four other jaw-dropping digs by Lokhmanchuk that had the crowd in awe, including a diving fist that saved on an expected UConn service ace.

Throughout Syracuse’s (2-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) season-opening double-header against Buffalo (0-1, 0-0 Mid-American Conference East) and UConn (1-0, 0-0 Big East), its offensive players made key defensive plays, securing two wins. Several players made multiple astounding defensive plays, with diving, spinning and one-handed maneuvers. But head coach Leonid Yelin said these plays are not something they focus on during practice. In fact, Yelin said, they’re not something that the team can work on at all since these plays have to do with natural instinct.

“You can’t say it’s a skill,” Yelin said. “You do everything you can to prevent the ball from hitting the floor, just get the ball.”

Along with 36 kills in Friday’s doubleheader, outside hitter Polina Shemanova recorded 14 digs against UConn and 17 against Buffalo. In the first set against Buffalo, Shemanova dropped to the ground with one fist which led to a set and then a booming Marina Markova spike.

Right-side hitter Naomi Franco had six digs of her own against UConn and an incredible dig at the end of a point in the second set against Buffalo. In the third set, SU’s defense held Buffalo to just six kills.

Yelin has spoken about the importance of versatile players and players that have skills outside of their job description, which helped in today’s matchups. He said adaptability allows the team to be more flexible.

“We don’t have these unlimited substitutions like basketball, so they have to play all around,” Yelin said. “So that’s why it’s so important to play like two positions. I never took (Polina) off the floor. Marina, I took her off but very little.”

Yelin said having all-around players like Shemanova or Lokhmanchuk can also take pressure off the rest of the team.

“If you have two outside hitters who are playing all around, it means they can stable the team by passing, digging and hitting, and basically everything,” Yelin said. “That’s why everyone has to add to it.”

It allows for setters like Elena Karakasi to focus on passing and setting up the offense instead of running around the court to prevent points. Between the two games, the team had 23 more kills than Buffalo and 15 more than UConn.

Published on August 27, 2021 at 11:31 pm

Contact Matthew: mahassan@syr.edu