Syracuse: SU volleyball fails to shoulder Cobbina's injury vs. 1-loss St. John's.

(From University Wire)

Byline: Zach Zagger

The night before Syracuse's matchup with top-ranked St. John's, head volleyball coach Jing Pu said no matter how good Syracuse's opponent is they would not be scared or intimidated. But an injured Cheryl Cobbina and a dominant St. John's team were too much for the Orange to overcome.

St. John's defeated Syracuse, 3-0 (30-20, 30-19, 30-21), on Friday at the Women's Building.

The Orange showed it was not intimidated by St John's 25-1 record at the beginning of the game. Syracuse tied the first game at 12-12. All night Syracuse started each game playing well, but could not keep the momentum. St. John's eventually pulled away to take the first game, 30-20.

"We came out strong at the beginning, but kind of let go toward the middle," freshmen Samantha Ainsworth said.

St. John's has been nearly unstoppable this year, only having lost one match and blowing through everyone in the Big East, defeating other top teams like Notre Dame, Louisville, and Marquette, 3-0. In fact, the Red Storm has not even lost one game in a match since Sept. 24. For Syracuse to pull out a win would have been an improbable upset.