Hot start to the season for Syracuse Volleyball
By Josh Solomon | @JoshSolo29
It takes a quick look back to last season for Syracuse Volleyball to know it was a year players, coaches, and fans don’t want to remember. SU’s overall record was an appalling 2-26, losing 18 games in a row to finish the season. In addition, SU didn’t even win a game in ACC play. Head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam entered his third season with a 13-43 record in two seasons with the Orange. However, Ganesharatnam just wants to look ahead and not dwell on the past.
“It’s not weighing heavy on us, we are really focused on this team,” Ganesharatnam said. “It’s a brand new team with a lot of new players… Our goal is to form a cohesive team that can compete at the highest level and if that means getting as many wins as possible we’ll absolutely take that.”
Syracuse returned this season with only six of the original 18 players on last year’s roster. The Orange hit the transfer portal during the off-season, picking up new additions like grad transfers Ava Palm from CSU Bakersfield and Sydney Moore from Cornell. Both Palm and Moore were brought in not only to start but also to install a veteran presence on the court. And even though it’s very early in the season, these two players have gotten off to hot starts.
Palm has averaged 14 kills per game and this past Saturday against Fordham helped lead the Orange to a victory with a season-high 19 kills. The outside hitter, combined with Moore playing middle blocker, has created a pretty good one-two punch. Moore is averaging seven kills and five block assists per game.
The SU grad students haven’t been the only weapons shining so far to start the season though. Redshirt freshman Skylar George transferred to Syracuse after not participating in any contests last year for Utah. However, Ganesharatnam has wasted no time involving George in his system. The outside hitter has averaged 10 kills per game and had 13 kills plus 11 digs this past weekend in Syracuse’s 3-1 victory over Manhattan College.
Moving into the team as a whole, Syracuse dominated the Salt City Classic to begin its season. Last weekend, SU hosted a tournament filled with local competition, including NJIT, Canisius, and Lafayette, to start its 2024 season. The ‘Cuse won all three matches, including two straight-set victories over NJIT and Canisius. Through just opening weekend, the Orange surpassed their win total from last season.
The following week, it was more of the same. The Orange took a trip down to New York City for the Big Apple Tournament, hosted by Columbia. SU swept the competition, including a straight-sets victory against the hosting Lions. In addition, Syracuse also took down Fordham and Manhattan College three sets to one. After the opening two weeks of the 2024 regular season, the ‘Cuse remain undefeated with a 6-0 record.
A big part of SU’s success has been service aces. The Orange are serving their opponents 57 to 27 so far this season. That’s three service aces per set. Alongside 13 kills per set, the Orange are simply taking advantage of their opponents.
Next up for SU is the Siena Tournament with three games in three days between Sept. 12-14. Syracuse will play the host team Siena on Thursday, NJIT on Friday, and Idaho on Saturday.
