Syracuse volleyball perfect during weekend tournament
Syracuse volleyball sweep invitational
Orange win all three games during Syracuse Invitational to complete undefeated non-conference schedule.
Syracuse opens Invitational against Le Moyne
The Syracuse Orange (10-0, Atlantic Coast Conference) defeated the Le Moyne Dolphins (1-6, Northeast Conference) 3-0 in the first match of the Syracuse Invitational. The Orange bench led chants of “Rejected, Rejected, You Just Got Rejected” all night as Cuse racked up 11 total team blocks.
Head Coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam, who brought in nine transfers over the offseason, continues to get the most out of this group in non-conference play. Junior Annie Nikolnikova had a team-leading 10 kills and five total blocks. The transfer from the College of Southern Idaho (NJCAA) finished with a hitting percentage of .600.
The Orange didn’t get the production they sought from their outside hitters. Ava Palm finished with eight kills and two service aces. The graduate transfer from CSU Bakersfield had a season-low hitting percentage of 13.3 against the Dolphins. Sophomore Skyler George, a transfer from the University of Utah, had a hitting percentage of 11.8 percent against LeMoyne.
Sydney Moore appeared in just one set for the Orange. Coach Bakeer said he decided to rest the graduate transfer from Cornell, who he said was “one of our most important players because she’s one of our most consistent players.”
Coach Bakeer’s decision opened more playing time for Zhaira Harris-Waddy, who had four kills, one solo block, and a hitting percentage of .429.
Sophomore Mira Ledermueller shined for Syracuse with 31 assists, two service aces, nine digs and a block assist. The Cuse setter also had two service errors. Ledermueller credited her teammates for her success, saying that “she depends on them.”
Orange beat Iowa St. in five sets
Block after block, dig after dig, kill after kill, the Orange never gave up on a play. That was on full display this Saturday as the Syracuse Orange (10-0, Atlantic Coast Conference) squared off against the Iowa State Cyclones (6-4, Big 12 Conference) at the Women’s Building in Syracuse. It is the first time Syracuse has faced a Power Four opponent this season.
Syracuse won the first 26-24. The Orange jumped out to an early lead in the opening set, but the Hawkeyes refused to go away. Junior Annie Nikolnikova had two straight kills at the end of the set before Syracuse won off back-to-back attack errors by Iowa State. Palm and Moore played a crucial role in winning set one. Both players had multiple kills in set one, and Moore played a significant role in defending the middle along with Nikolnikova.
The Orange came out cooking in the second set, but Iowa State emerged victorious 25-18. The Hawkeyes went on an 11-4 run to close the set. George was critical in Syracuse winning Set Three 25-22. The outside hitter had five kills in the set before a Nikolnikova block put Cuse up 2-1 in the match. Iowa State won Set Four 25-18. At one point, the Hawkeyes led 18-9. With the set out of reach, Ganesharatnam made a change at setter, with Sophomore Veronica Sierzant replacing fellow Ledermueller.
Sierzant was the shot in the arm Syracuse needed, as the Orange took Set Five 15-10. In the win, Nikolnikova had four kills, three of which were assisted by Sierzant.
Ganesharatnam said the team “needed to change something” in set four. The third-year head coach said they “wanted to finish that fourth set in a good rhythm.”
Moore, Palm, Sierzant, and Nikolnikova played a key role in the win, and so did Sophomore libero Greta Schlichter, who finished with a team-high 12 digs.
The Orange’s other libero, Freshman Emma Ortiz, finished with 10 digs.
When asked about how young they were in comparison to their teammates, Schlichter told reporters, “Don’t think too much about how young we are… it doesn’t matter.”
It was only fitting that Schlitter was sitting next to Palm, who called her journey as a player a “four-year progression.” That four-year progression has paid dividends for the Orange.
Win over Cornell completes perfect weekend
Moore played four years for the Cornell Big Red, but the graduate transfer wore Syracuse Orange on Sunday in front of her friends, family, and former teammates. Moore’s in-depth knowledge of her former team was critical in the Syracuse Orange (12-0, Atlantic Coast Conference) defeating the Cornell Big Red (6-3, Ivy League) in four sets. It wasn’t easy.
Syracuse defeated Cornell 25-19 in Set One. Ganesharatnam successfully challenged the opening rally after officials incorrectly determined that a kill by Redshirt Freshman Skyer George was out of bounds. The set was closely contested until the Orange went on a 4-0 run to make it 12-8. The Big Red would pull within three before Syracuse went on a 3-0 run, including one kill apiece by Senior Klara Zarnovicka and Sophomore Annie Nikolnikova.
Cornell won set two 25-21 after taking an early 10-5 lead over the Orange. Cornell started attacking Sophomore setter Mira Ledermueller, who was running the middle all game.
Coach Bakeer said that Cornell “ran the offense over her.”
Sierzant spelled Ledermueller later in set two. It’s the second time in as many days that Sierzant has made an immediate impact for Cuse. Ganesharatnam praised Ledermueller for running the offense well against Cornell.
The Orange won Set Three 25-19. Syracuse went on a 5-2 run against Cornell to make it17-12 before pulling away in the match. Palm and George each had four kills in the fourth set, with the latter adding a service ace.
Cornell lost the fourth set, 29-27, but they started it on an 8-2 run. Syracuse responded with a 5-2 run after Ganesharatnam called timeout, eventually pulling within three points. Cornell responded with a 6-2 run before a lengthy review brought the match to a standstill. Cornell unsuccessfully challenged a kill by Palm before being further complicated by a mistake on the scoreboard that indicated Cornell had been successful. It was not.
Cuse went on an 11-4 run to tie it after the challenge. Cornell scored the 24th point of the set and nearly escaped with the win, but Sierzant and Palm had back-to-back kills to retake the lead. After failing to capitalize after a kill by Moore gave Cuse a 27-26 lead, Palm had a kill of her own, and an attack error by Cornell handed Syracuse a 29-27 win.
Moore, a self-described “volley nerd,” said, she was able to help scout and prepare the Orange to play her former teammates at Cornell.
“I know people’s tendencies,” she said. “I know what might happen, and I think that made a big difference for us in some crucial moments.”
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is a contributor for The NewsHouse.
is a contributor for The NewsHouse.
is a contributor for The NewsHouse.