Syracuse Volleyball Dominates Canisius in Straight-Sets Win

By Zac Ventola | @ZacVentola

Rochester, NY – Syracuse volleyball (4-3, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) is back in the win column. SU swept Canisius (0-8, 0-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) 3-0 on Sunday afternoon. The Golden Griffins showed some fight, but ultimately the Orange were too much to handle. SU remains undefeated as a program against Canisius.

Last time out for the ‘Cuse was a loss to Arkansas, 3-1 in the Women’s Building. SU outside hitter Kiernan Stamey had a season-low eight kills in that battle.

The first set of the day was all Syracuse, all the way. A pair of kills by right-side hitter Keila Gabriel helped the Orange take an 11-6 lead. SU extended that lead by the media timeout, as kills by Kiernan Stamey and Bo Nijenhuis helped the Orange go up 15-8. Syracuse wrapped up the set by winning six of the final seven points over the Golden Griffins.

Despite a dominant first set, the second started with a bit of a scare–Canisius got out to a 9-4 early on.

However, the set was filled with plenty of back-and-forth action. After being down 12-6, the Orange rattled off seven consecutive points to take the lead. The Golden Griffins, however, responded right back with four-straight points of their own. 

The trend continued. The ‘Cuse scored three in a row, then Canisius rattled off five. SU matched that, scoring five consecutive points to take a 22-20 lead. The Orange maintained their lead and won the set 25-23.

The third set matched more closely to the first.

Syracuse took a 10-5 lead to start the set, thanks in part to a trio of kills by Emma Williams. The junior finished with 10 kills (tied with Gabriel for a team-high) and an impressive .421 hitting percentage.

Service errors and attack errors hurt the Golden Griffins in the final set, contributing to eight of the Orange’s points. Ultimately, SU wrapped up the afternoon with a 25-19 win in the third set.

SU tallied 40 total kills, compared to just 24 by Canisius. Freshman Charis Burge helped facilitate the Orange offense, as she tallied 29 assists.

The ‘Cuse is back at it Friday at 6:00 p.m. against Fairleigh Dickinson (2-8, 0-0 Northeast Conference) for the Syracuse Invitational.

For coverage of the Orange vs. Knights and the rest of Syracuse volleyball’s season, follow @ZacVentola and @CitrusTVSports on X.