Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

In Syracuse head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam’s second season with Syracuse, the team arrived in Hamilton, New York, with just one win through seven games. That night, SU was thrashed in straight sets by Colgate, an ominous sign of what was to come the rest of the season.

It was 2023, and Syracuse finished 2-26, ending winless in conference play. It was the worst season in program history. And while it may have been the start of a new regime, the early returns for Ganesharatnam’s program were not promising.

Exactly two years later, Syracuse’s trip to Hamilton was supposed to exhibit the growth the program has endured since that night. Instead, it will be labeled as one of the more deflating losses of Ganesharatnam’s tenure, as Syracuse (6-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) was stunned by Colgate (3-5, 0-0 Patriot League) 3-1. SU won the first set and was up 20-15 in the second set, but the Raiders rattled off three set wins in a row to complete the comeback.

“Colgate is a really, really good team. They have been together for a long time and are very well coached as well,” Ganesharatnam said during weekly media availability.

After starting with seven straight away games, Colgate, the Patriot League champions for the last four years, finally got the opportunity to hang the banner in front of its home crowd. In front of a hostile environment, it would’ve been understandable to see the Orange start slow.

But SU came out of the gate fast, with Sydnie Waller pinpointing a spike that landed just inside the backline to take a 7-5 lead. At 11-8, Skylar George, who led the team with 18 kills in a dramatic win over Cornell, notched three straight to keep the Orange on track offensively.

As expected, both teams exchanged blows, with the margin at three or less for the majority of the first set. A serve from Tiana Owens confused libero Rana Yamada and cut SU’s lead to 17-16. From there, it regained control. George’s eighth kill of the set was a strike that landed inside the right sideline, giving the Orange a 25-22 first set victory.

While the first set was a grind, Syracuse cruised to a 20-15 lead in the second set, with all facets in sync. The Orange looked like the far superior and hungrier team, evident from the sideline’s body language.

But then the momentum completely flipped.

Down 20-16, Colgate’s Maddie Rudolph managed a miraculous dig to keep the point alive, and Gabby McLaughlin, who totaled 55 attack attempts on the night, was rejected at the net. After another Colgate point, McLaughlin’s attack attempt failed again, this time landing wide right. Suddenly, Colgate trailed by one.

Earlier in the season, Ganesharatnam mentioned his team needs to “find a way to distribute the sets a little more evenly” so McLaughlin’s arm doesn’t get overworked. On Friday, it was clear McLaughlin wasn’t in rhythm, yet her 55 attack attempts were 28 more than SU’s next closest player.

After McLaughlin’s stretch of misfires, Colgate seized the opportunity. Down 21-19, a 6-3 Colgate spurt evened the match at 1-1. It proved to be the turning point.

SU’s hitting percentage dropped from 0.375 to 0.178 in the second set. Ganesharatnam’s game plan was clear: play through the outside hitters. But Colgate, with 20-year head coach Ryan Baker, began to zone in on McLaughlin and George, which forced SU to become multi-dimensional offensively.

Trailing 13-10, Ganesharatnam opted to sub in Marie Laurio for George. The freshman instantly gave the offense a spark, her first swing landing inside the back left line to make it 14-12.

But Colgate’s offense was evidently in a groove following the second set comeback – Rudolph faked an outside slide, and Torres bolted through the middle, surprising SU with a slam at the net to make it 21-17. The point was a microcosm of SU’s third set: Colgate had the Orange guessing on both sides of the ball. A 25-20 third-set victory put the Raiders one set away from victory.

To start the fourth set, Ganesharatnam opted for another change, this time bringing in setter Veronica Sierzant to give his team another attacking option on the front line. Against Cornell, the decision to bring Sierzant in paid off.

The two teams traded points early, but a blatant whiff on a set from Sierzant extended the Colgate advantage to three. Midway through, a 3-0 SU surge, capped off by a Soana Lea’ea overhead pass, cut the Raider lead to 14-13, giving the group a much-needed jolt of energy.

After Syracuse’s collapse in the second set, it couldn’t find any rhythm. Yamada, one of their most reliable players, made two consecutive poor digs that resulted in Colgate points. SU used one last run to cut the lead to 23-22, but Milan Bayless skied at the net to notch her 17th kill of the night to hand the Orange their first loss of the season.

Published on September 12, 2025 at 11:27 pm