Syracuse swept by No. 6 Louisville for season’s 1st ACC loss
Syracuse lost its first ACC match of the season to No. 6 Louisville on Sunday after falling to the Cardinals in straight sets. Charlie Hynes | Staff Photographer
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Syracuse hasn’t been ranked in the America Volleyball Coaches Association Poll since 2020. That trend has plagued the Orange, as they’ve lost all 19 of their ranked matches across the last four seasons.
The closest Syracuse came to an upset was in 2021, when it forced No. 3 Pitt into a do-or-die fifth set after dropping the first two. The Panthers prevailed in the final frame, winning 15-9.
That would be the last time the Orange won a set against a ranked adversary, and they did so on a polished team led by then-head coach Leonid Yelin.
But now, under current SU frontman Bakeer Ganesharatnam’s leadership, he’s retooled the program with a new coaching staff, recruits and transfer portal talent. In 2025, the Orange look to show signs of improvement. An upset win over a ranked team, let alone a set win, would indicate that progress.
The progress is near and tangible, but was a far-fetched expectation Sunday.
Syracuse (9-3, 1-1 Atlantic Coast) was swept by No. 6 Louisville (10-2, 2-0 ACC). Though the Orange figured out the Cardinals as the game rolled on, they couldn’t steal a frame off one of the nation’s top teams.
Louisville is the best squad SU has faced thus far. It’s battle-tested from losses to No. 2 Texas and No. 3 Kentucky in nonconference play. Meanwhile, the Orange’s biggest test before Sunday was Colgate, which it fell to twice.
If Syracuse wants to compete with such talent, it needs to come out with a bang. But on Sunday, the Orange were pitted against the wall from the start. When Kalyssa Blackshear pelted a spike at Veronica Sierzant on the first point of the match, and Tehya Maeva couldn’t lift the ball over the net, it was clear it’d be a difficult day for SU.
Louisville’s best trait in 2025 has been its brick wall at the net. It only rosters three middle blockers, but Cara Cresse and Hannah Sherman have held down the fort. In nonconference matches, the Cardinals ranked fourth in the nation in blocks per set with 3.22, and they currently lead the ACC in the category.
That was displayed early when a Gabby McLaughlin touch was stymied by Cresse at the net to give Louisville a 7-3 advantage. The Cardinals won the match’s block battle 9-2.
Moments later, a Chloe Chicoine bullet gave Louisville possession of the serve, which it took time to surrender. In fact, Nayelis Cabello inserted the next 10 points into play, as Syracuse crumbled in an 11-point drought. The Orange lost the first frame 25-8, recording their lowest single-set point total of the season.
Sydnie Waller hadn’t played in 15 days, and Ganesharatnam poached her at right-side hitter for the second frame. She’d posted a 28.1% attack percentage through seven appearances, and she was key for a depleted Syracuse attack in need of a spark.
In the Orange’s victory over Notre Dame Friday, it set a season-low hitting mark of 14.6%. They managed to split this average into thirds Sunday, when it was just 4%.
SU’s first point of the second set was a Waller kill that sent Cabello flying. It proved to be a momentum booster, but Syracuse’s pace wasn’t strong enough.
Early in the set, its bench was fired up after seeing the ball go back and forth across the court five times during a single point. But Skylar George recognized a tired Chicoine and blasted the ball to her right to make it 3-2.
After Sherman misplaced a set intended for Blackshear, the Orange only trailed 13-9. But from that moment on, they were shredded to pieces.
Louisville made Syracuse uncomfortable, pressuring it into seven errors throughout the second frame. Rana Yamada was flying over the court just to make contact with the ball, and during a seven-point drought, she couldn’t fling the ball over the net or to a teammate on multiple digs.
McLaughlin had some solid kills in which she forced the ball under Chicoine’s left arm twice, but it didn’t matter. SU fell 25-17.
Usually, when a game seems out of reach, Ganesharatnam makes several substitutions ahead of the proceeding set. But this time, he didn’t give up on his top-end rotation. And Louisville didn’t make any changes either. It would be a dog fight.
As McLaughlin, George and Waller traded kills, Syracuse seemed like it had a chance. When it trailed 9-7, it was Maeva’s turn to serve. The Nevada transfer laced the volleyball into Kamden Schrand’s chest, and she lost control.
Following an Oreva Evivie block, Maeva targeted the libero again off the serve and tucked the ball to her right, where she couldn’t reach it. She then recorded her third serve in four points, feeding Chicoine a serve that she had no control over. The ball ended in the upper deck of the stands.
The Orange’s 11-9 lead didn’t last forever, though. It took a while to surrender their advantage, but after leading 17-14, they conceded six consecutive points, leading to a 25-20 Louisville win.
After a week of perfecting its serve, Syracuse will need to add another layer to its arsenal to compete with top-end talent, which will likely start with upping the hitting percentage.
