Syracuse Volleyball Survives Challenge from Rider

Syracuse Volleyball has never had too much trouble playing against Rider. In fact, in both of the previous meetings between the Orange and the Broncs, the Orange brought out the brooms and swept Rider right off the court.

Last night, the broom was not needed, as Rider took set three in a four-set, hard-fought victory for Syracuse. The familiarity of Rider’s roster proved difficult for an Orange team full of newcomers.

“Rider has been very successful as a program, and they brought pretty much everybody back…and the coaching staff has been doing a good job…we knew it was going to be a very solid, very well-coached, and very fundamentally skilled team, and we saw that today.

10 of SU’s 17 rostered players were not on the squad in 2024. One who was, however, is Zharia Harris-Waddy, a major force in last night’s victory over the Broncs.

“I’m hungry all the time to get a kill, get a block—assist even, dig—but just being on all my Ps and Qs about everything every point,” Harris-Waddy said.

One more returner who was crucial in the win was outside hitter Skylar George. The redshirt sophomore didn’t touch the court until the fourth and final set of the match, but George had an immediate impact, posting a team-high .455 hitting percentage.

“We talked after the third set, and we said we needed energy, that we’ve got to want it, and I was ready on the bench, I knew that was just what we needed. I just had to bring that, and I think it brought it out of [other] people, too.

SU is back in action tomorrow when it finishes its Salt City Classic slate at 2:00 PM against Le Moyne.