SU volleyball falls in straight sets to Notre Dame, starts ACC play 0-2
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Syracuse volleyball has dominated Notre Dame recently. In 2024, SU trailed 2-0 against ND but stormed back to win in five sets. Last year, the Orange beat the Fighting Irish 3-1 behind Skylar George’s 15 kills.
Entering Sunday’s contest, both teams were looking for something to prove. Syracuse lost its Atlantic Coast Conference opener in straight sets to No. 4 Louisville Friday, while Notre Dame fell 3-1 to Boston College in its first conference test.
Looking to continue its recent success against the Fighting Irish, SU instead fell flat. Syracuse (5-6, 0-2 ACC) was swept by Notre Dame (4-7, 1-1 ACC) Sunday, failing to win a set in its first two ACC games. The Orange had 17 fewer kills, eight fewer digs and six fewer blocks than ND.
Things remained tight in the first set. Notre Dame scored twice, with a kill and an attack error, before SU could get on the board. But Syracuse tied the game at two with a kill and service error.
The Orange then took a 3-2 lead when Abby Nichols and Kiernan Stamey leaped over the net to keep the ball from landing on Notre Dame’s side of the court. Soon after, Mario Laurio had an impressive block to give SU a point. Laurio shined Sunday, finishing with 29 total attacks and six kills.
A key reason for Laurio’s heroics was Charis Burge. Burge set up Laurio for success multiple times, totaling eight assists in the first set and 19 overall.
Even with Burge and Laurio’s strong days, Syracuse struggled in the first. Notre Dame went on a 5-0 run to pull ahead 10-6 and didn’t trail for the rest of the first set. The Orange lost the opening frame 25-17.
The second set, however, was much closer.
Syracuse scored first after Chichi Nnaji committed an attack error. That point fueled SU, as it went point-for-point with Notre Dame for a while. The Fighting Irish briefly led before the Orange gained momentum and took a 15-12 advantage.
But SU’s lead didn’t last long. Errors and inconsistencies plagued Syracuse late in the set, eventually leading to its 25-18 loss.
SU collected six errors and four service errors in the second set, and the Fighting Irish had 10 free points in the frame.
The Orange needed any kind of spark entering the third set. It was do-or-die time.
Syracuse took a 1-0 lead after an Emma Williams kill, but everything went downhill afterward. Notre Dame bolted through the rest of the set, taking a 9-1 lead that it wouldn’t relinquish.
The Fighting Irish cruised to a 25-14 victory with little to no comeback effort by the Orange. It was an all-too-familiar feeling for SU.
Errors were Syracuse’s Achilles’ heel Sunday. SU gifted Notre Dame nine free points in the third set from errors.
“We need to work on consistency,” head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam said postgame. “We need to keep working on eliminating unforced errors. We need to create more pressure situations with our serving, so serving and serve receiving will be big components of our practice plan this week.”
Ganesharatnam’s plan makes sense, considering SU’s 19 attack errors and eight service errors.
Sunday showed Syracuse is a long way from competing with the cream of the crop in the ACC. But Ganesharatnam is still staying positive about his team’s direction.
“Losing in general is not ideal. Trust me.” Ganesharatnam said. “But we are competing in an elite volleyball conference, one of the top conferences in the country. So we will be challenged no matter who we play.”
With a daunting conference schedule ahead, 2026 may be trying at times for Ganesharatnam and Co. Still, the fifth-year coach wants to use the tough games to help SU stabilize its controllables and not worry about what the other team is doing.
With Syracuse backed into a corner after two conference losses, knowing SMU and Pitt are next on the schedule might feel scary. But Burge said she sees it as a way to experiment and adjust to another team.
“We can maintain our level of volleyball while also competing at a high level,” Burge said.
