Early in the third set against Northeastern on Sept. 20, freshman Marina Markova uncorked a serve. Markova’s serve flew by every Northeastern player, good for her fourth ace of the day as Syracuse comfortably handled Northeastern in straight sets.

Normally after a Markova ace, assistant coach Derryk Williams turns to his fellow coaches as they all share a collective look of amazement, Williams said. This time, Williams peered over at the Northeastern coaches.

Markova’s serving ability was the first thing players and coaches noticed when she joined the program in January. This season, she’s led all SU players with 20 aces, which amounts to 0.61 aces per set — eighth best in the nation.

“The future for [Markova] is unreal,” Williams said. “And I think this team is going to build around her as much as it’s built around Polina [Shemanova] in the past, and we’re only going to get better with the two of them.”

After qualifying for its first NCAA tournament in program history, Syracuse (4-5, 1-1 Atlantic Coast) has been a team in transition this season. Eight players from last year’s team graduated or transferred, thrusting underclassmen players like Markova, sophomore Elena Karakasi and freshmen Lauren Woodford into prominent roles.

Since dropping their first four games of the season — with two losses coming to top-10 teams — the Orange have won four out of their last five matches. SU head coach Leonid Yelin said the Orange’s slow start may have been due to new players growing into new roles. In their recent successful stretch, the team has replicated their techniques from practice into games.

“We didn’t do anything different,” Yelin said. “We are such a young team and every day we are learning and every day we are getting better.”

Since the losing streak, Syracuse has cleaned up its play from the service line. Led by Markova, the Orange have averaged 5.2 aces in losses, compared to 6.75 in victories.

Yelin believes the chemistry Markova built with her teammates in the spring, combined with her 6-foot-4 frame, have allowed Markova to excel.

“Marina, she’s a monster,” Williams said. “The trajectory she hits her serve is, even when I’m standing back there passing it [in practice] I don’t want to touch it because she hits it so hard and at a tough angle.”

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While Markova’s emergence alongside sophomore Polina Shemanova, the reigning ACC freshman of the year, have not come as a shock to Williams, Karakasi’s development in her second season has been the biggest surprise, Williams said. After Jalissa Trotter graduated and expected starter Dana Valelly departed the team, SU turned to Karakasi.

“It’s unbelievable, I can’t say how much (Karakasi’s) improved since last year,” Williams said. “Not only technically, but mentally and emotionally as a player I think she’s developed in the sense that she controls the court, she’s jumping way higher, people are afraid to hit around her and she’s a threat in the front row now.”

In SU’s win against Kansas, its first of the season, Karakasi recorded 34 of the Orange’s 38 assists. Against Clemson on Sunday, Karakasi led Syracuse with another 34 assists, and her attack in the fifth set forced a Clemson error and sealed the 3-2 win.

When Karakasi rotates out, Woodford often enters. The freshman graduated a year early from Spring Lake Park (Minnesota) High School to join the Orange and has featured in 23 of a possible 33 sets in 2019. Because of Woodford’s age, Yelin was unsure if she would be able to make the transition to collegiate volleyball this year. But he said she’s “mature for her age.”

Along with Karakasi, Markova and Woodford, Syracuse has also relied on freshmen middle blockers Abigail Casiano and Izzy Plummer. With aspirations for a second consecutive NCAA tournament berth, Syracuse will continue to lean on the underclassmen.

“I think that this class is special, they’re really hard workers and come to the gym every day wanting to get better,” senior Aliah Bowllan said. “As an upperclassman, I don’t think you can ask for any more.”

Published on October 2, 2019 at 11:44 pm

Contact Alex: athamer@syr.edu