Syracuse was tied 10-10 in its third set against Georgia when outside hitter Nicolette Serratore prepared to serve.

SU suddenly opened up a lead with a string of six consecutive Orange points featuring four Serratore aces.

“Against Georgia I was just really attacking certain players that I could see were struggling,” Serratore said.

Her service success was not an isolated incident. Her 0.78 aces per set average ranks first in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and her efforts on this front contribute to Syracuse’s (5-0) two aces per set, 14th most in the country. Serratore and her team hope to continue their strong service game as they enter the LIU Blackbird Invitational in Brooklyn, New York, this weekend.

When serving, Serratore tries to stay relaxed. Each time she serves, she does two “twisting bounces” and rotates the ball twice while holding it. She then faces it a certain direction before breathing deeply and serving it.

It’s a ritual she has performed for four or five years, and brings her a sense of comfort. It makes her feel like she’s in practice, as opposed to being in a high-pressure game situation.

Serratore tosses the ball at just the right height before striking it with a flat hand to prevent the ball from rotating in the air.

“It kind of is moving through the air, and it just throws off their pass a little bit,” Serratore said.

Her serve, which is classified as a jump float, also relies on the ball staying low and dropping quickly onto the court.

Serratore isn’t the only Syracuse player who has been successful serving. Four other Orange players have recorded four or more blocks so far, all contributing to the team’s 36 aces through 18 sets this season.

Through its first five matches of last season, Syracuse only recorded 26 aces in 20 sets.

A successful service game not only increases the number of aces, but also improves the offense as a whole.

“Everything basically starts with the serve,” senior setter Gosia Wlaszczuk said. “And whenever we serve well (it) makes our life way easier and we can just run our offense and stop them.”

Wlaszczuk also said that moving the opponent away from the net by serving well makes it hard for them to play in the middle of the court. As a result, the Syracuse blockers are able to set up successful double blocks on the left or right sides.

Senior outside hitter Silvi Uattara is impressed with the marked improvement of her team.

“I’m really impressed (with) how much better we became in running offense,” she said.

Despite the team’s five consecutive wins to open the season, more difficult games against No. 13 Arizona and No. 15 Ohio State are looming this weekend.

The magnitude of these matchups shouldn’t negatively impact Serratore’s service game. She has already been utilizing an appropriate strategy.

“Just kind of staying calm … just taking the pressure off and not thinking about what the score is or anything like that,” Serratore said. “Just getting the ball hard and into the court I think is really helping me.”

Published on September 9, 2015 at 10:33 pm

Contact Kevin: kjpacell@syr.edu