Syracuse defeats St. John’s 3-2 in final nonconference game
It took five sets, but Syracuse defeated St. John's 3-2 in its final nonconference game of the season, improving to 8-2. Charlie Hynes | Staff Photographer
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Syracuse head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam has spoken at length about his vision for how he wants his volleyball team to play. He often emphasizes that mentality outweighs physical tools. When asked about one word that he hopes would define the 2025 team in the offseason, Ganesharatnam said “tenacious.”
“We wanted to build a team that kind of reflects the identity of central New York,” Ganesharatnam said Saturday. “We’re blue-collar, we’re gritty, we have to work with what we get, and we wanted to make sure this team kind of reflects that.”
The fourth-year head coach understands that this year’s team is undersized and doesn’t possess as much raw talent as other Atlantic Coast Conference teams. In fact, he embraces it.
Gritty is the word that best describes Saturday’s performance – a clear reflection of the mentality Ganesharatnam has preached all season. Syracuse (8-2, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) trailed 2-1 after giving away its lead in the crucial third set but rebounded to defeat St. John’s (4-9, 0-0 Big East) 3-2 in its final nonconference game of the season. SU’s star outside hitter tandem, Gabriella McLaughlin (19 kills) and Skylar George (10), carried the Orange to a fifth-set victory.
“I want to give my team a big kudos here because that third set was a little bit of a heartbreaker,” Ganesharatnam said. “We felt like we had that and let that slip away a little bit, and the team showed a lot of character coming back and being really strong in that final set.”
The Orange had little difficulty breaking down Siena on Friday, as Syracuse registered its highest hitting percentage in over four years. From the start of Saturday’s affair, it was clear that SU was going to have to work for a victory.
Ganesharatnam opted to change the starting lineup from Friday’s game, with Marie Laurio replacing George and Veronica Sierzant starting in the 6-2 formation, which has brought SU success recently.
Two points in, Laurio got a perfect set from McLaughlin but sailed it past the end line for a Red Storm point. An ace from Erin Jones, where the ball was dipping rapidly as it approached the SU defense, put St. John’s up 5-1.
With Syracuse down in the first set Friday, Sierzant notched an emphatic block at the net that kicked SU into gear. Today, it was Zharia Harris-Waddy’s turn, as she rejected Ana Franca Benjamim to ignite the crowd and cut the St. John’s lead to one.
But the Red Storm remained composed and extended their lead to 17-15 after Piper Willinger’s serve floated on top of the net but rolled back onto the SU side. Leading 24-20, Erin Jones dropped in a finesse shot over Laurio, who anticipated a spike, to put the Red Storm on the board for the first set.
In Friday’s postgame press conference, Sierzant said George brings a “lot of fire to the court.” After Laurio recorded a -.125 hitting percentage in the first set, Ganesharatnam subbed in George to start the second set. Immediately, the Houston, Texas, native made her presence felt with an ace that pinpointed the back left corner to give Syracuse an early 8-2 lead.
The Orange’s serve became problematic for St. John’s as the second set went on. Rana Yamada tallied one of four second-set aces with another perfectly placed serve to the left side of the court to take a 14-7 advantage. SU never lost its lead, and a Soana Lea’ea kill evened the match at one apiece.
While SU’s offense logged a .000 hitting percentage in the first set, that number climbed all the way to .591 in the second set, with the offense cutting back on the unforced attack errors and giving its outside hitters better angles of attack.
In the third set, the offense reverted back to its first set pace. SU hit just .178 and had five attack errors. The inefficient offense allowed St. John’s to establish its serve. After leading 19-15, Syracuse stumbled, and the Red Storm staged a comeback to take the third set 25-23.
In a pivotal fourth set, the Orange delivered, with multiple gritty defensive plays from McLaughlin and Yamada. The serve, which disappeared from the Orange in the third set, resurfaced in the fourth with six aces, the most in a set all season.
With the crowd now at its back — which Ganesharatnam said felt far greater than the reported 170-person attendance — Syracuse forced a winner-take-all fifth set.
McLaughlin, with three years of collegiate experience under her belt, understands how crucial it is to set the tone in the fifth set that is played to 15. The Nevada transfer did that when she skied for a spike that put SU up 1-0. Leading 8-4, George was rejected at the net.
Two points later, however, George would not be denied. She fired the ball cross-court, landing just inside the right sideline to take a 9-6 lead. Then, after a free ball, Lea’ea showcased her patented slide maneuver to put the Orange three points away from victory.
With everybody on their feet in the building, McLaughlin sealed the victory with her attempt, deflecting off multiple Red Storm defenders and out of play.
“I don’t think there was any doubt in anyone’s mind that we were gonna (win) that match,” McLaughlin said.
