Syracuse volleyball posts season-high 91 digs in loss to NC State
Despite Syracuse losing its seventh straight match against NC State, it set a season-high in digs, led by Rana Yamada's 28. Tara Deluca | Staff Photographer
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The Orange entered Sunday’s match with NC State boasting 1,351 total digs, averaging 14.43 digs per set, the fourth-highest in the conference. Rana Yamada led the charge with 320 on the season, while outside hitter Gabriella McLaughlin added 264.
This trend of high-dig performances has paired with the Orange’s past wins. Against Cornell, the team totaled 61 digs, with Yamada posting 23. Against Notre Dame, the Orange totaled 86 digs, with outside hitter Skylar George recording 21 and McLaughlin with 17.
Even in losses against Wake Forest and Virginia, Syracuse recorded 53 digs and 77 digs, demonstrating that a strong defensive presence keeps the team competitive.
Despite entering Sunday searching for a spark amid a demanding Atlantic Coast Conference stretch, Syracuse (13-13, 5-11 ACC) broke free from its defensive slump against NC State (13-13, 6-10 ACC). The Orange posted sheer determination in the back row, producing a season-high 91 digs, led by Yamada’s career-high 28.
But even with SU’s performance and four players with double-figure digs, NC State ultimately prevailed, dominating in a 3-1 win.
The match featured two teams locked into defense-first volleyball, exchanging long rallies, diving saves, and tightly contested plays. Despite the Orange out-digging the Wolfpack 91-90, NC State countered with a narrow advantage in blocks, edging Syracuse 11-9.
While neither team could find a consistent offensive spark, no player shone brighter defensively than Yamada. Entering the match, the junior had already established herself as the heartbeat of Syracuse’s backcourt, having played every set of the season as one of the ACC’s steadiest defensive anchors. Against NC State, she elevated her performance to another level.
Yamada’s 28 digs surpassed her previous best of 26 digs set at Central Wyoming College and her prior season high of 25 against Boston College. The performance also marks the most digs by any Syracuse player under head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam and pushes her average to 3.55 digs per set, ranking eighth nationally.
“As a libero, you’re always a target. People challenge you and try to put you in situations where you need to perform,” Ganesharatnam said. “Rana did a great job today digging. She has a lot of responsibility. When she makes this amount of digs in a game, it gets overshadowed,” Ganesharatnam said.
Her game was impossible not to notice against NC State. Yamada repeatedly extended rallies with instinctive saves.
One of her defining moments came late in the third set, with Syracuse leading 21-17. NC State fired a hard-driven ball that looked destined for the floor — until Yamada launched across the court for a full-extension, diving dig. Just seconds later, she made a second diving save, helping Syracuse win the longest exchange of the match.
Early in the fourth set, with NC State jumping ahead 5-1, Yamada made another spectacular defensive play, this time reacting to a softly-tipped ball just inches over the net. Not long after, she produced her most creative dig of the afternoon: a behind-the-back reach on a ball quickly dropping toward the end line. Yamada’s touch kept the point alive.
Even when Syracuse trailed late, Yamada maintained her urgency. Between 19-15 and 21-18 NC State leads in the fourth set, she recorded three more critical digs — one of them a fingertip graze on a ball that seemed untouchable, keeping Syracuse alive in must-win rallies.
Yamada ended the afternoon as the match’s top defender and firmly established herself as one of the ACC’s most valuable liberos.
She wasn’t alone. Syracuse’s defensive effort was balanced. Alongside Yamada, the Orange received major contributions from George (16 digs), setter Tehya Maeva (16 digs) and McLaughlin (15 digs). Together, the four accounted for 75 of Syracuse’s 91 digs, showcasing a collective defensive effort that kept them competitive in every set.
Offense may have dictated the score, but defense dictated the story.
NC State finished with 11 blocks, ahead of Syracuse’s nine. The Wolfpack consistently challenged Syracuse’s attackers at the net, forcing the Orange to attempt riskier swings. Syracuse countered by doing much of the same, pressuring NC State hitters into 24 attack errors.
“In the blocking we were right there with them,” Ganesharatnam said. “The block worked hard this weekend to make adjustments in timing and position, which resulted in a lot of touches and allowed defenders to be outside the shadows.”
The Wolfpack also had notable defensive contributions with four players in double-digit digs, including libero Elaisa Villar’s 24. The Orange defense proved equally relentless, matching NC State and keeping Syracuse firmly in contention.
“We need to attack our serves to take the other team out of the system and then capitalize on that with our defense, with block touches and defenders in the back row,” Ganesharatnam said.
The performance offers a clear path for the rest of the season. If the Orange can defend at this level, they can compete with any ACC opponent.
“We must come out with fire, finish the season strong, bring all we can for each other, and improve during practice through constant communication,” Maeva said.
