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Entering its matchup versus Virginia Tech Sunday, Syracuse’s last win versus an Atlantic Coast Conference foe came on Nov. 6, 2022. In the nearly 24 months since then, the Orange lost 31 straight ACC games.

After exchanging sets with the Hokies, SU needed to win just one set to snap its losing streak. As much of the game had gone, the final set was a seesaw, eventually reaching a 13-13 stalemate. Then, back-to-back Skylar George kills propelled the Orange to victory.

“It’s really exciting because it feels like all the work that we put in showed,” said Zharia Harris-Waddy, who notched 13 kills and a 36% hitting percentage. “It shows that we are putting in work and that we’re meant to be in this conference.”

Syracuse (13-9, 1-9 ACC) secured its first conference win in nearly two years by defeating Virginia Tech (7-13, 1-9 ACC) in five sets. The Hokies won the first and third sets, but SU rallied from behind to snap its nine-game losing streak.

“I think this match is proof (of) how tough this conference is,” Syracuse head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam said. “We knew coming in that this match (was) going to be a very difficult one because both programs are going through similar situations.”

The first set had 13 ties and seven lead changes. The lead changed off of every point from when Ava Palm recorded the Orange’s 10th point until VT scored two kills in a row, bumping the score to 23-21. The Hokies took the first set thanks to a kill by Hailey Pearce. Pearce currently leads VT in kills (219) and recorded the most kills of the match (21).

SU tied the match with a 25-16 second-set victory. Virginia Tech took an early lead, but Syracuse took the lead on a double block by Sara Wasiakowska and Harris-Waddy midway through the set and never looked back.

The next two sets followed the same pattern, as VT won the third set before the Orange took the fourth.

Virginia Tech beat Syracuse in the third set 25-21, maintaining the lead for the entirety of the set. SU struggled with some miscommunication on the court, leaving spaces open for VT to score some easy kills. During the third set, the Orange recorded a game-high nine attack errors.

Still, Syracuse entered the fourth set energized. SU went on an instant 6-0 scoring run, propelling it to force a fifth set. While the Orange succeeded in keeping the lead for most of the set, VT cut the Orange’s lead to 17-15.

From there, the Hokies stayed within at least four points before tying the score 23-23. In response, Palm scored one of her team-high 19 kills. An ensuing service error by Virginia Tech clinched SU the set.

The fifth set of the match was familiar for SU volleyball fans. In their last match, the Orange were in the same situation and couldn’t come away with the win. But today, George — who notched double-digit kills for the eighth time this season — came through to lift Syracuse to victory.

“Sometimes it’s unfair because you get minimized just to wins and losses,” Ganesharatnman said. “I don’t think it’s fair to this team because if you look at the history of this team, going back two years ago where we started, it was a complete total rebuild.”

Published on October 27, 2024 at 7:08 pm

Contact Vivian: vpcollins06@gmail.com