Syracuse Volleyball drops another straight-set ACC loss to 5th-ranked Stanford
By Josh Solomon | @JoshSolo29
Stanford, CA – At the beginning of the match, Syracuse looked to be hanging in the game with one of the best teams in the country. Stanford might have been leading on the score sheet, but it was only by a few points at the start. The Cardinal went up in the middle of the set 17-11, but the Orange’s resilience excelled the team on a point streak. SU scored eight of the next ten points and only trailed 21-19 late in the first set. Past that point, both teams traded points until Stanford reached the finish line, winning the set 25-22.
After the first set, the Cardinal was smooth sailing with dominant performances in the second and third sets. In the second set, Stanford and Syracuse were deadlocked to start. The Cardinal’s largest lead was just two points (7-5) early in the set. However, things took a turn once Stanford got in a groove. The Cardinal scored eight points in the middle of the set to take a double-digit lead, 18-8. SU’s chances were slim to none, and it didn’t seem that Stanford intended to slow down. The Cardinal took the second set 25-13.
The third set might have looked even worse for the Orange. The Cuse didn’t even reach double-digit points in the set. Stanford started hot with a 6-1 lead, forcing SU head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam to call his first timeout early in the set. Following that point, the Cardinal scored 10 of the next 12. Eventually, Stanford (12-2, 4-1 ACC) took the third set 25-8 and defeated Syracuse (12-5, 0-5 ACC) in straight sets, 3-0. The Orange haven’t won a set since September 29th.
A few bright spots for the Orange included right-side hitter Sydnie Waller who racked up five kills and one dig in the contest. In addition, middle blocker Anastasiia Nikolnikova recorded three kills and five blocks.
The Cuse are struggling of late, losing its last five matches in a row against conference opponents. Three of those five losses have come against ranked opponents in a high-powering ACC. Next up, Syracuse takes on another new conference opponent in California. The Bears are 9-7 this season with a 1-3 record in the ACC. The opening serve for tonight’s game is at 10 p.m. EST.
