Syracuse Volleyball Thoroughly Outclassed in Loss to No. 4 Pittsburgh

By Ryan Croke | @ryancroke_ 

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse volleyball (13-14, 5-12 Atlantic Coast Conference) is below .500 for the first time this season after losing to No. 4 Pittsburgh (23-4, 15-2 ACC) in a 3-0 sweep.

The Orange dropped their eighth straight match in the most lopsided result of that streak.

SU led 8-6 early on in set one, but Pitt quickly turned things around. Of the frame’s final 22 points, 19 went to the Panthers. Pitt took the set 25-11.

Set two was the most dominant of the evening for the three-time defending ACC champion Panthers. Pitt took the frame 25-9, joining then-No. 6 Louisville as the only teams to hold SU below double-digits in a first-to-25 set this year.

Set three was the closest of the bunch, but the result was never in question. Pitt took the set 25-19 and completed the sweep.

SU’s 39 total points across the three sets are its fewest in any match this year.

The Panthers nearly doubled up the Orange in every statistical category. Pitt tallied 43 kills to SU’s 21, 10 blocks to SU’s five, 40 assists to SU’s 21, and 34 digs to SU’s 18.

Despite the massive gulfs between the sides in nearly all metrics, the stat that best reflects Pittsburgh’s sheer dominance over Syracuse is hitting percentage.

Pitt posted an absurd .486 rate—easily the best by a Syracuse opponent this year. By contrast, the Orange ended the match with a -0.022 hitting percentage—their lowest and first sub-zero mark this season.

SU stays on the road for another ranked tilt against No. 8 SMU (22-5, 14-3 ACC) on Sunday at 2 p.m.

For coverage of that match and the remainder of the Syracuse volleyball season, follow @ryancroke_ and @CitrusTVSports on Twitter/X.