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Syracuse was cruising on Friday. Up a set and leading 20-15 in the second set, the Orange seemed poised to easily dispatch Colgate and be well-rested for Saturday’s matchup.

After four straight Raider points, however, the Orange began to unravel.

Gabriella McLaughlin’s spike attempt landed wide right of the net, cutting SU’s lead to just one. But Ashlee Gnau still had a chance to put Colgate away as she served at set point. The serve never got above the net. Colgate capitalized on her error to take the set 27-25, and the Raiders never relinquished their advantage.

Following Friday’s deflating loss, Saturday’s game against Colgate was an inflection point for SU: the kind of matchup that could define its season. A bounce-back win would have kept the Orange in the right direction and displayed the resilience required to consistently win games in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

But it was impossible to escape the lasting sting of letting that second set slip away. After its improbable comeback, Colgate (4-5, 0-0 Patriot League) won five out of its next six sets against Syracuse (6-2, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) to defeat the Orange 3-1 on back-to-back days. SU was immediately out of sync on Saturday, with Colgate immediately gaining early leads and winning each of the first two sets. A couple of timely substitutions rallied SU to a dominant third set win, but Colgate’s cohesiveness and tactical dominance led it to a clinching fourth set victory.

“We just have to stay together and keep working and making these adjustments, and we will get over the hump against teams with this kind of quality,” Syracuse head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam said.

Colgate silenced any doubt that Friday’s heroics were a fluke with an emphatic opening set. The Raiders were up 6-0 before Syracuse could even blink. Ganesharatnam acknowledged the poor start postgame.

“First of all, we didn’t start off well. We made, I believe, five unforced errors in the first seven points they scored. That’s not good,” Ganesharatnam said.

But SU quickly responded, with Skylar George delivering an emphatic spike at the net to ignite a 3-0 burst. Colgate consistently remained connected after scoring runs, however. The Raiders answered with a three-point surge, as Maddie Rudolph caught multiple SU players out of position with a deft slam at the net to take a 9-3 lead.

Ganesharatnam was proud of SU’s ability to stay within striking distance after the poor start, but Colgate’s efficient offense was too much to overcome. The Raiders’ .417 hitting percentage nearly doubled Syracuse’s .242.

After its first set victory, Colgate’s confidence only continued to grow. With just an hour drive to SU, the Colgate crowd was exuberant for the second-straight day. As the crowd created energy for its players, Colgate once again jumped out to an early 4-1 lead. After Deren Cukur set up Tiana Owens for a slam at the net, Colgate’s advantage extended to five.

SU crawled back with a 5-0 run, showing its first signs of life in over four sets. Back-to-back McLaughlin kills cut the Raider lead to 20-18, but that was the closest the Orange would get. At set point, Frances Torres skied for a spike that sliced over the back line off of Sydnie Waller’s hand to put Colgate up two sets to none.

Down to his last set, Ganesharatnam opted for a lineup change: in came Marie Laurio and Veronica Sierzant, and out went George and Waller.

“We felt like Sky’s legs were getting a little heavy, and Marie played really well when she came in last night. So, we were very confident when we put her in that she (was) not gonna miss a beat there,” Ganesharatnam said.

Her coach’s sentiment proved to be true – Laurio made an immediate impact, registering two consecutive kills, including a finesse shot on the left side to give the Orange a 5-0 advantage out of the gate.

From there, Syracuse quickly began to find its rhythm, easily delivering its best stretch of play of the night. With Laurio and Sierzant in, SU began to utilize the center in its attack, with Oreva Evivie and Lea’ea each registering kills with an overhead pass. Laurio credited SU’s success in the set to having “high hands off the block.”

While SU’s diversified attack fueled a 25-17 third-set victory, its inexplicable attack errors reared their ugly head once again in the fourth set, hampering its ability to comeback.

Rana Yamada had a pair of poor digs that proved costly in Friday’s fourth set. Leading 13-11, Syracuse needed to gain some breathing room in the fourth set. But Yamada failed to handle Julia Oster’s serve on two out of the next three points, giving the Raiders the spark it needed.

Both teams continued to exchange points late into the set. At set point, Milan Bayless laced a cross-court spike to take the match 3-1 and give Colgate back-to-back wins over Syracuse.

It was far from SU’s desired outcome. But for a squad with plenty of fresh faces, Ganesharatnam emphasized the importance of patience throughout the season.

“We have had two months and ten new players. It’s going to take time to form a team that’s consistent and has the chemistry and the connection that we’re looking for,” Ganesharatnam said.

Published on September 13, 2025 at 10:31 pm