Syracuse Volleyball at Inflection Point Riding Three-Game Skid
By Ryan Croke | @ryancroke_
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse volleyball (13-9, 5-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) has lost three straight for the first time this season. A promising start to the year and to conference play has taken a turn for the worse.
Before this weekend, SU had not dropped below .500 in ACC competition at any point this season. Back-to-back losses to Florida State (13-8, 7-5 ACC) and No. 15 Miami (17-5, 8-3 ACC) leave Syracuse two games under the mark.
The white-hot Seminoles had little trouble with the Orange, winning the match in four sets. FSU extended its win streak to five games and its win streak over SU to 18 matches.
It was the first time in over a month that the Orange lost consecutive matches and the first time since starting conference play.
Things looked much better in the early goings against the 15th-ranked Hurricanes. Syracuse achieved a major milestone by winning a thrilling opening set 29-27. The Orange led a ranked opponent for the first time under head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam, who joined the program ahead of the 2022 season.
The lead was short-lived. Miami was dominant in set two, winning 25-12. A late Syracuse in the third was not enough to overcome a 23-17 deficit. The Canes took the fourth set with relative ease, winning 25-19.
Syracuse’s defense was picked apart by Miami outside hitter Flormarie Heredia Colon, whose 33 kills surpassed Virginia (10-12, 3-9 ACC) freshman Reagan Ennist for the most by an individual player against SU this season.
The Miami result, in particular, is a tough one to swallow for Syracuse. On one hand, leading after set one is a major accomplishment and another moment from this campaign that says the rebuild is moving in the right direction. On the other, it’s a third straight defeat, and with ACC play being as difficult as it is, SU’s season could spiral after a strong start.
Syracuse remains two wins shy of equaling its best conference win total under Ganesharatnam and has five matches remaining against teams currently below it in the conference standings. If the Orange want to make this the most successful season since Ganesharatnam joined the program, the opportunity is there for the taking.
Syracuse hosts Clemson (13-10, 1-10 ACC) on Friday at 6 p.m. and Georgia Tech (11-9, 6-5 ACC) on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Tigers rank last in the ACC standings, while the Yellow Jackets received votes in last week’s AVCA poll.
For coverage of those matches and the remainder of the Syracuse volleyball season, follow @ryancroke_ and @CitrusTVSports on Twitter/X.
