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Syracuse entered Sunday not having won an Atlantic Coast Conference game since Nov. 6, 2022. The Orange lost all 18 matchups in 2023 and entered Sunday on a four-game ACC skid despite going undefeated in nonconference play.

The next test for SU would be its biggest of the season so far, facing No. 1 Pittsburgh. The Orange showed some flashes, especially in the second set, but ultimately couldn’t break through against the Panthers.

Syracuse (12-4, 0-4 ACC) fell to Pittsburgh (13-0, 3-0 ACC) in straight sets Sunday. The Orange were barely competitive in any of their sets, recording just 24 kills, its second-lowest total this season.

In the first set Ava Palm dominated with attacks from the left side. The strategy early on for Syracuse was to attack from the outside. Palm had six kills in the first set and recorded five of SU’s first six points. On the opposing side, Pitt’s Torrey Stafford recorded eight kills in the first set. The Panthers ended the first set on a 6-1 run after a kill from sixth-year graduate student Valeria Vazquez Gomez. Pitt rarely made many mistakes, recording zero attacking errors in the entire set with a hitting percentage of 0.591.

In the second set the Panthers found success attacking with Ryla Jones in the middle of the court. Syracuse was able to respond after great play by sophomores Zharia Harris-Waddy and Sydnie Waller, who combined for seven kills.

“I think [Waller] practiced really well and really and turned on that switch, and that allowed her to get opportunities on the court,” SU head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam said. “When she had those opportunities, she made the most out of it. She really produced good numbers for her, which really helped our team.”

Pitt controlled most of the second set, though it would be the most competitive for the Orange. Late in the set Syracuse cut the lead to 18-15 on a kill from Waller. The Panthers responded with a mix of kills and errors from the Orange. Pitt ended the set on a 7-3 run, coming out with 25-18 after a Jones kill sealed the deal.

Syracuse started off the third set well after a Waller kill cut Syracuse’s deficit to 6-5. However, Pitt scored seven out of the next eight points, to make it 13-6. Another flurry of Panther kills and Orange errors quickly turned a tightly contested set into a rout for Pittsburgh. The Panthers kept the Orange away for the rest of the set and the 22nd attacking error from Syracuse ended the match as Pitt won the last set 25-14.

Syracuse averages 12 kills per set, but today it recorded only 24 total, without recording more than 10 in any set. Defensively, Pitt’s attackers were too much to handle recording 42 kills with an attacking percentage of .372. Syracuse only recorded 21 digs with no player recording over five.

Syracuse totaled 22 attacking errors and seven service errors. Pitt, by comparison, only had 10 attacking errors.

“We just had so many errors,” Ganesharatnam said. “But that can happen against a team like Pitt, that can put a lot of pressure on you.”

Ganesharatnam preaches serving tough as the Orange have been productive from the serve line all year. Today Syracuse only had two aces, both coming from Palm as it was not able to do much serving as Pitt won about 77% of its sideouts. Syracuse only served 44 times compared to Pitt’s 74.

Syracuse had a couple bright spots as Waller had another productive day with four kills. Harris-Waddy held steady as the middle-blocker, recording three block assists. Harris-Waddy was able to control the middle of the court for the stretches especially in the third set.

“I thought (Harris-Waddy) worked really hard on the blocking and provided us opportunities where the attackers had to go away from option one to two and three, which allowed us to defend them with our backup defenders,” Ganesharatnam said.

Palm led the way with 10 kills, extending her team-leading total to 186. Palm, a graduate student, was confident her team could match the No. 1 Panthers but needed to play with more confidence.

“I think, just trusting themselves, being confident… It comes with maturity, physically and mentally,” Palm said. “Just understanding how good you are as a player and what you’re capable of… Everyone is capable of producing; it’s just a matter of trusting yourself and not being afraid.”

Syracuse’s road doesn’t get much easier, matching up with No. 5 Stanford in Palo Alto Friday. However, Ganesharatnam believes these games are big for the Orange to grow and learn as their hunt for an ACC win continues.

“I thought we learned a lot playing against a team like Pitt, and we saw some promise that we are going to take with us and keep improving and then down the line,” Ganesharatnam said. “Hopefully a match like this will help us to get success against some other teams in the ACC.”

Published on October 6, 2024 at 5:06 pm

Contact Aidan: aidan.tseng@gmail.com