Syracuse fails to parallel Colgate’s Friday comeback in 3-1 loss
Colgate was down a set against SU on Friday but came back and won. On Saturday, the Orange were in the same position but failed to recover. Tara Deluca | Contributing Photographer
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Syracuse volleyball was firmly in the driver’s seat in Friday’s loss to Colgate.
It comfortably took the first set 25-22. Skylar George continued to surge after an 18-kill performance in a reverse sweep victory over Cornell a week ago. The outside hitter nearly notched half of her total in the first set.
The Orange carried their firepower into the second frame. They embarked on an early three-point stretch, which was capped off by a Reese Teves service ace. With the Raiders lingering right behind, SU launched into a five-point streak in a pivotal juncture of the second set. Teves remained in the game, delivering another ace and a kill in the process.
Syracuse led 20-15. Already up a set with Colgate’s backs against the wall, the Orange would be in prime position to take their second consecutive frame and all but seal a sweep.
It didn’t happen. The Raiders splurged forward with a 12-5 run and took the set. And the next one. And the next one.
Syracuse (6-2, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) found itself pitted in a similar hole as Colgate (4-5, 0-0 Patriot League) Saturday, but it couldn’t follow through and was defeated in four sets. The Orange opened cold like the Raiders did Friday but couldn’t muster enough magic to replicate history in the second half of a home-and-home weekend.
SU mirrored its central New York foe from the get-go. Right-side hitter Tiana Owens was all over the Orange. She notched three kills en route to a 6-0 Raider advantage to abruptly set the tone for the frame. Syracuse reached six points well before Colgate did the day prior.
The team that jumped out to an early lead would make sure it was untouchable, and the set seemed sealed. The Raiders exploded to a 15-5 cushion after an attack error by George, which was SU’s third of the young set. Syracuse head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam was not pleased with these faults.
Next, Syracuse began a comeback, showing why the frame wasn’t fully out of reach and tying the score at 20 to give Colgate a slight scare. The Raiders got within the Orange in the first set in Hamilton, making it 20-19.
Still, the small splurge wasn’t enough. Both first sets ended 25-22 in favor of the school that got out front first.
“I thought the team showed a lot of character and a lot of fight, and then kind of worked their way back into that set. And I think if they didn’t get that last run, we had actually a shot, possibly stealing the set from them,” Ganesharatnam said.
The Raiders, like the Orange did Friday, jumped out to a 4-2 advantage in the second set. The attack errors remained constant, as George and Soana Lea’ea were each responsible for one.
Midway through the set, the lead never flipped on either occasion. On Saturday, Colgate jumped to a 20-16 advantage, much like SU had done the day prior. Ganesharatnam credited the Raiders’ strong attack.
“It’s not so much that we’re not doing our job on defense. It’s more the quality of Colgate’s offense,” he said. “I didn’t think we blocked very well yesterday. However, I thought we blocked really well today. We forced the attackers to take option two and option three attacks.”
Gabriella McLaughlin delivered two consecutive kills, one of which landed at a kneeling Julia Oster, while the other clapped off the hands of Deren Cukur. After Maeva’s serve landed out of bounds in the back right corner, McLaughlin played a low ball to Oster, who couldn’t control it again. The Raiders led 21-19.
History was repeating itself. The Orange would surely take down the Raiders in a come-from-behind second-set victory. They could then comfortably take the next two frames to reign victorious in four sets, just as Colgate did on Friday.
On the very next point, Colgate’s Maddie Rudolph chipped a ball off of Oreva Evivie, and Rana Yamada couldn’t keep it alive as it sailed to her left. Then McLaughlin couldn’t control a Rudolph volley on her right. Rudolph earned the Raiders their third consecutive point by slapping a ball down shallow. It closed the deal for the second frame, and the Raiders won 25-21.
SU wouldn’t replicate Colgate’s come-from-behind heroics Saturday. It opted for a fresh look in the third set, as it subbed out George and Sydnie Waller for the likes of Marie Laurio and Veronica Sierzant. The two combined for 15 kills for the rest of the match and drove the Orange to their lone frame victory of the night.
“Something I talk about a lot is just doing your job wherever you are on the court or on the bench,” Laurio said. “I’m keeping my energy up because no matter what is happening in the game, I need to be ready to go in and help my team out.”
Still, the third set didn’t change the outcome. If Syracuse wanted a chance at winning the match Saturday, it needed to win the second set. Plain and simple. It didn’t, and the contest seemed all but over from that point on.
The Orange were knocking on the door with a shining chance to emulate what their opponent did the day prior. They couldn’t take the lead and now find themselves pinned down with their first pair of nonconference losses since 2023.
“We lost two matches. However, I think a lot happened in these two matches, especially from last night’s match,” Ganesharatnam said. “That shows that we’re on the right path.”
