Syracuse Volleyball swept by No. 4 Louisville in ACC opener

Syracuse Volleyball dropped all three sets in their ACC opener against highly-ranked Louisville in the Women’s Building.

The Orange held their own in the first set. The teams traded early blows with Louisville in a set that started 6-6.

Teams line up on the court
Syracuse and Louisville starters are announced before the game. Photo credit: Cole Isaacson

After that, Louisville flexed their muscles, ended the set on a 19-3 run.


“I have to obviously give Louisville credit for their execution,” said Syracuse Head Coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam. “At the same time, I’ve [got to] give our team credit for staying in the match, not losing composure and being consistent with the things we could control.”

The Cardinals won every aspect of the stat sheet.

Four different players on their squad notched at least seven kills, The ‘Ville controlled the ace total 10-2 and the block numbers 11.5-2 as well.


With that dominant play, Louisville took the second set 25-13 and jumped out to an 18-9 lead in set three.

The team huddles on the court
Syracuse huddles between points against Louisville. Photo Credit: Cole Isaacson

Syracuse showed they weren’t quite done yet by going on an 8-1 run. The score was 19-17.


“I thought our attackers did a good job exposing some of the areas [of the block],” Ganesharatnam said. “They stayed in it, stayed positive and found ways to improve our hitting percentage in the third set.”


Louisville used a timeout and put themselves back on the right path. The won set three 25-18 and secured the sweep.

Three players in ready position for a serve
Syracuse libero Yuka Urano waits for Louisville’s serve. Photo Credit: Cole Isaacson

This is the second straight game the Orange have been swept, where they lost to in-state opponent Buffalo in the Syracuse Invitational.

SU is now 5-5 on the season and 0-1 in ACC play.

The ‘Cuse next matchup comes at home against Notre Dame on Sept. 27, beginning at 1 p.m.