Volleyball travels South once again for a pair of ACC matchups

By Ryan Bridges | @RyanBridges517

CitrusTV Volleyball Beat Reporter

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – SU’s first opponent this weekend is Clemson. The Tigers went 0-2 last weekend after losing to Georgia Tech and Duke. 

“If we’ve learned anything through this whole experience it’s that every team in the ACC is a top team,” Syracuse Head Coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam said on Wednesday. “We have to be mentally and physically prepared… For us to beat them, it’s going to require us to play at the limit.” 

Although it is Coach Ganesharatnam’s first season on the hill, his program has a good track record against Clemson. The Orange have won their last 10 matches against the Tigers.  

Clemson does have home court advantage, but that hasn’t mattered so far for either one of these teams. SU is 3-1 in ACC road matchups, while the CU is 1-3 at home against ACC opponents.  

Syracuse’s second opponent this weekend is the 10th ranked team in the country, Georgia Tech.  

The top 10 ranking is nothing new for the Yellow Jackets. They opened the season as the ninth-ranked team in the country, and climbed as high as fifth at one point. 

This game will be played at O’Keefe Gymnasium where Georgia Tech is 8-2. Their only home losses came against #8 Ohio State and #9 Pittsburgh.   

This will be Syracuse’s first time playing a ranked opponent since suffering a 3-0 home loss to #2 Louisville. 

As exciting as it is to play a top 10 team, Coach Ganesharatnam says, “All the focus is on Clemson… Once that match is over, we will think about Georgia Tech.” 

The match against Clemson is Friday at 7 p.m. while Sunday’s match against Georgia Tech is at 1 p.m.