Syracuse Falls to Florida State, Loses Back-to-Back ACC Games
By Ryan Croke | @ryancroke_
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. | Syracuse volleyball (13-8, 5-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) has a losing record in ACC play for the first time this season. White-hot Florida State (12-8, 6-5 ACC), riding a three-game win streak entering the match, took care of the Orange in 4 sets on Friday.
The defeat marks the first time SU has lost back-to-back matches in over a month, when Colgate took both meetings of a home-and-home series.
The Seminoles came out firing, racing out to an early 8-5 lead in set one. FSU led by no fewer than three the rest of the frame.
Syracuse showed much more fight in set two and gave Florida State some problems. A 5-1 Orange run midway through the frame tied the match at 15 and it remained close the rest of the way. FSU eventually sealed the deal with a 25-23 set win, but SU showed it could hang.
The Orange followed a strong second set with a win in the third set, and a dominant one at that. SU jumped out to an early 7-2 lead and never looked back, eventually taking the frame 25-19.
The fourth set was all Seminoles from start to finish. FSU rattled off seven straight points after trailing 2-1 early, and that all but put the match out of reach. The Seminoles led by no fewer than five for the remainder of the frame.
On a positive note for the Orange, the outside hitter duo of Gabby McLaughlin and Skylar George rebounded from a rough outing in last Friday’s defeat to Boston College (15-8, 4-7 ACC). The pair combined for 29 kills, with McLaughlin’s 15 leading the way.
McLaughlin also added a team-high 12 digs in her 13th double-double of the year.
Setter Tehya Maeva also notched a double-double with 38 assists and 10 digs. The team captain continues to be an essential part of the SU attack.
The Orange remain in the Sunshine State for a clash with No. 15 Miami (17-4, 7-3 ACC) at noon on Sunday. SU has not won a ranked match under head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam.
For coverage of that match and the rest of the Syracuse volleyball season, follow @ryancroke_ and @CitrusTVSports on Twitter/X.
