Syracuse Volleyball Eyeing Best Season Under Bakeer Ganesharatnam
By Ryan Croke | @ryancroke_
SYRACUSE, N.Y. | At the halfway point of its season, Syracuse volleyball (11-5, 3-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) has shown immense growth from its previous two seasons. SU recorded a 3-35 composite conference record over the prior two years. The Orange already have three ACC victories through six matches this season.
Two of SU’s three conference losses came to top-10 teams in the nation in No. 5 Louisville (14-2, 6-0 ACC) and No. 6 Stanford (14-3, 6-1). The third came in a five-set thriller against Virginia (8-8, 1-5 ACC) that was about as winnable as a match can get.
All of this is to say that the Orange appear to have turned the corner in their rebuild. SU is far from the top of the table in one of the elite conferences in Division 1 volleyball, but has plenty to be proud of six matches into league play.
In the case of Sunday’s 3-0 defeat to Stanford, the box score doesn’t tell the full story. Syracuse hung with the sixth-ranked team in the country in the early goings of all three sets, and held leads close to the midpoint of the first two. The Cardinal took over down the stretch in all three frames en route to the sweep, but it was an impressive display of fight and relentless effort from the Orange.
“It’s not really new for us,” Syracuse head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam said of his team’s never-give-up attitude. “It’s part of our DNA.”
The Orange adjusted to the Cardinal attack throughout the match, with Ganesharatnam specifically pointing to the serve receive as a major point of improvement.
“We were able to find solutions throughout the match,” Ganesharatnam said. “Now, can we do that consistently at this level? That’s something we’ve got to work on.”
While Syracuse showed fight against one of the ACC’s elite teams on Sunday, in Friday’s 3-1 win over California (5-11, 2-4 ACC), SU proved it can take care of business against middle-of-the-pack conference opponents.
Despite a .135 hitting percentage while allowing a .243 rate to the Golden Bears, the Orange gutted out a victory. The undersized Orange took sets one and two on sheer will, and nearly closed it out in a sweep. SU led 24-20 in set three before a six-point run by Cal to force a fourth set that nearly followed the same script. The Orange led 24-21 before allowing Cal to take the lead, but would eventually come back to take the frame 28-26 and seal the match.
After a 3-2 win over St. John’s on Sep. 20, SU’s last home match before this weekend, Ganesharatnam said his team represented Central New York with its grit and underdog mentality. Central New York appears to have appreciated the message. The Women’s Building was as full as it has been all season for both home matches this weekend.
SU’s highest conference win total under Ganesharatnam came in his first season back in 2022. The Orange won seven ACC games and finished 11-17 on the year. Syracuse is .500 through six conference matches in 2025 and already has 11 wins through its first 16 matches.
At the halfway point of its season, Syracuse has shown it is more than capable of having its best season of Ganesharatnam’s tenure.
Syracuse next welcomes Duke to the Women’s Building on Friday at 6 p.m. and North Carolina on Sunday at 2 p.m.
For coverage of those matches and the second half of the Syracuse volleyball season, follow @ryancroke_ and @CitrusTVSports on Twitter/X.
