Volleyball Faces Off Against Bryant Before Heading into ACC Play
Ryan Bridges | @RyanBridges517
CitrusTV Volleyball Beat Reporter
SYRACUSE, N.Y.- Volleyball will begin ACC play against Boston College next week, but the Orange have one more game to play against Bryant. Syracuse will be playing down in Storrs, Connecticut as a part of the Dog Pound Challenge hosted by UCONN.
Bryant travels to Connecticut with a 7-5 record on the year, playing teams from various different conferences.
On paper, this match favors Syracuse. The Orange averages more kills, assists, and digs per set than the Bulldogs.
When asked about Bryant, Syracuse Head Coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam said, “They’re very scrappy on defense, and they’re not as big as we are but they run a pretty fluent offense…It’s not always easy to play against a team like that…”
“It’s a good matchup for us because I think it will get us ready for conference play,” Ganesharatnam added.
With this being the last match before playing ACC teams, it is a building block for SU and its final chance to iron out any kinks.
Ganesharatnam and his team know that the competition will pick up around this time of year as the ACC is one of the best conferences in the country.
“There are some amazing programs. It’s gonna be a dog fight… Everything we do right now in the non-conference is to prepare us for that level…”, Ganesharatnam said in regards to the conference.
However, the Orange don’t just need to improve their play on the court if they want to compete against ACC teams, they have to make sure they are healthy. Syracuse only has 11 players on their roster, while most collegiate volleyball rosters have around 18 to 19.
“We are working on finding solutions and are doing the best we can… and now with the weather change, we have some players under the weather… There’s very little margin for error.” Ganesharatnam told reporters on Wednesday.
This Syracuse team that has spent very little time together will have to overcome plenty of adversity in order to perform well over the next few weeks.
First serve against Bryant is on Friday at 7 P.M.
