Third Set Proves Pivotal in Syracuse Volleyball’s Loss to Wake Forest

By Ryan Croke | @ryancroke_ 

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — If you were to look at the box score of tonight’s 3-1 loss for Syracuse volleyball (13-12, 5-10 Atlantic Coast Conference) to Wake Forest (12-14, 6-9 ACC), you’d think it really wasn’t a close affair.

You’d be wrong.

Syracuse head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam was pleased with his team’s performance despite the defeat and said it was closer than it appeared.

“We did a lot today that really worked,” Ganesharatnam said. “We just finished a really emotional and intense match, and it really hurts when you lose a match like that. But you have to allow yourself to take a step back and look at the things that worked well….I think this was a really, really close match.”

A pivotal point in the match was the third set. Things were hanging in the balance and didn’t go Syracuse’s way. 

The Orange trailed early, stormed back, had a set point up 24-23, but Wake Forest scored three in a row to take a 2-1 lead and would eventually win in that fourth set.

Right-side hitter Sydnie Waller called the third frame a rollercoaster and said it was a tough one for the team to swallow.

“It was back and forth the entire time,” Waller said. “We had a timeout closer to the end and we were just saying, ‘what’s gonna carry us through is our energy and our momentum.’ We just wanted to go out as strong as we can, swinging, blocking, digging.”

“Obviously, it didn’t go our way, but we gave it everything we’ve got,” Waller concluded.

Syracuse can end its six-game losing streak when it hosts NC State (12-13, 5-10 ACC) on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.

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