Syracuse Volleyball Enters Final Stretch on Nine-Match Skid
By Ryan Croke | @ryancroke_
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse volleyball (13-15, 5-13 Atlantic Coast Conference) wraps up its season this week. The Orange are in South Carolina to take on Clemson (16-14, 4-14 ACC) on Tuesday at 2 p.m. before hosting Virginia Tech (11-18, 3-15 ACC) on Friday at 3 p.m. to close the year.
After a strong start—the Orange were once 13-6 with a 5-4 record in conference play—SU’s spark has all but been put out.
A pair of sweeps at the hands of No. 4 Pittsburgh (24-4, 16-2 ACC) and No. 8 SMU (23-5, 15-3 ACC) were the latest installments in a nine-game losing streak dating back Oct. 22. It’s been over a month since the Orange won their last match.
Throughout the skid, SU head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam has attributed the team’s struggles to a grueling conference slate. “Our team has to play at the absolute limit every time if we want to beat these teams in the ACC,” Ganesharatnam said after a 3-1 road loss to Clemson on Nov. 7. “It’s very draining.”
Two weeks before, after a sweep to Boston College (16-14, 5-13 ACC), Ganesharatnam said, “Every time we play in the ACC, if we want to have a chance, [we have to play] absolutely to the limit…Not every team that plays us has to do that.”
That loss to the Eagles was the genesis of the losing streak that has spanned a full month.
It’s hard to gauge just how drained the team might be since its early success, but on-court results align with what Ganesharatnam has said of the losing streak. In three of the nine losses, SU took the opening set, then lost the next three.
Of the remaining six losses, three were sweeps to teams either ranked or receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) rankings. Ganesharatnam has not beaten any such team in his four-year tenure at Syracuse.
SU hasn’t won multiple sets in a match since its last win on Oct. 22, a 3-2 victory over Boston College.
Luckily for SU, Clemson and Virginia Tech are two of the bottom three teams in the ACC table, each with fewer conference wins than the Orange. If the season is to end on a positive note, the Orange can’t ask for a better opportunity to make it happen.
For coverage of the conclusion of the Syracuse volleyball season, follow @ryancroke_ and @CitrusTVSports on Twitter/X.
