Orange Seeking Volleyball Championship

The Big East Women's Volleyball Championship kicks off today and the Syracuse Orange will be there. After missing out on the tournament last year, the Orange were able to secure the eighth and final sede and a matchup with nationally-ranked Louisville in 2007. The tournament goes through the weekend and will be hosted by Marquette University at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The Orange won their last three regular season games, including victories over Big East foes Villanova and Seton Hall. Even then, it came down to a third tie-breaker to put Syracuse into the final spot in the tournament over Pittsburgh. They finished with a record of 21-12-0 overall and an 8-6-0 mark in conference play.

The team was led this year by seniors Cheryl Cobbina and Joscie Kaup. Cobbina, an outside hitter from Toronto, Ontario, ranked sixth in the Big East in kills, averaging 4.00 per game. Kaup, a defensive specialist from Ft. Recovery, Ohio, was third in the conference in digs, with 4.66 per game. Both were named to the All-Big East Second Team Thursday night, at the annual tournament banquet.

The road will not be easy for the Orange. Their opening round matchup pits them against a Louisville team that went 13-1 in the Big East and were conference co-champions. The Cardinals were ranked in the top two for virtually every team statistical category this year. The two teams met September 29, in the first week of conference play, with Louisville winning 3-0. But Syracuse is not intimidated and is not satisfied simply to have made the tourney. Sophomore outside hitter Kacie MacTavish told The Daily Orange, "We're not going to come out scared or expecting to lose. We're going to do our best to beat them, no matter who's on the other side."

Blog idea came from SU Athletics.