Outside hitter Silvi Uattara led Syracuse in kills, attack opportunities and digs this season. She was setter Gosia Wlaszczuk’s go-to hitter and the primary target of opponent’s servers that tried to take her out of play.

The Orange lacked another star hitter.

Senior outside hitter Nicolette Serratore went down with a broken foot before the season, and SU lost a hitter, defender and a leader.

“She’s my other Silvi,” Wlaszczuk said of Serratore’s ability to finish consistently. “That’s what we’re missing, a person to go to. That’s a person to go to in critical moments.

“She will never disappoint you.”

After sitting out this entire senior season, Serratore will return to the court next season for Syracuse (9-21, 2-16 Atlantic Coast) in her fifth year as she pursues a graduate degree or a second major. She was planning to spend another year in school somewhere, so the injury has made it convenient for her to return to SU. The Orange has a strong incoming class after a very difficult season, and head coach Leonid Yelin said Serratore is the player least likely to lose her starting job.

“I learned a lot just about the game, the speed of the game, reading the players but also mentally how everyone affects each other,” Serratore said.

Syracuse failed to live up to Yelin’s “huge” expectations for this season, mainly due to injuries. Aside from Serratore, outside hitter Valeriya Shaipova played injured in the beginning of the season before reinjuring her knee on Oct. 12, and sat out the rest of the season.

Additionally, a variety of players missed games due to smaller injuries.

As a result, Syracuse hit .191 as team for the season, good for 13th out of 15 in the ACC. SU was last in assists and kills and bottom five in the conference in digs, aces and opponent hitting percentage. The Orange expects Serratore, a strong all-around player, to help on all fronts.

“Oh my God, a lot, a lot. A lot,” Yelin said when asked how his team missed Serratore. “We lost our ball control and Nico was obviously this kind of hitter who has (the) best ball control on the team.”

Yelin talked throughout the season about the team’s struggles to “stay in system,” which starts with ball control and serve receive. Senior Lindsay McCabe called Serratore a “very, very strong defender and serve receiver,” and it’s clear SU could’ve used her defense this season.

Without Serratore and Shaipova, opponents could focus their game plans on Uattarra. The hitter routinely faced double and triple blocks when on the attack and frequently had to dig and serve receive as opponents hit at her, trying to take her out of the play.

An “other Silvi,” as Wlaszczuk said, would not only give the setter extra options, but also prevent the defense from focusing on one player. When Uattara didn’t play well, the Orange often didn’t score well.

“This freshman class, it’s going to give them competition, big time,” Yelin said of next season. “Nobody is safe.”

Yelin didn’t want to compare next year’s possibilities to this season because of the inordinate amount of injuries the team faced. Nonetheless, he said the talent level would be higher.

Serratore is working her way back from injury, now starting to practice and work on certain skills she’s been cleared for. Yelin thinks she may be able to jump, but doesn’t want to risk it.

She’s been working with the team’s three young defensive specialists on improving their serve receive. She participated in limited pregame warm-ups with the team in its last few weeks. Yelin watched her do smaller jumping exercises during practice a few weeks ago.

Serratore views her situation not as a setback, but as an opportunity to continue her education and to keep playing volleyball.

“It’s just made me really appreciate of everything, all the little things,” Serratore said. “Right now, I’m so excited to be able to play volleyball again and I appreciate the sport so much more.”

Published on December 2, 2014 at 12:41 am