Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam believed that “statistically,” Syracuse should have won the second set. After losing the first, SU held a commanding 22-18 lead over North Carolina. Then, the Tar Heels went on their biggest run of the contest, scoring seven straight en route to taking a 2-0 advantage.

From there, the Orange (2-15, 0-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) continued to nosedive in a straight set loss to UNC (8-8, 2-5 ACC). Despite charting nine blocks to North Carolina’s five, the visitors outplayed Syracuse in almost every statistical category to keep SU winless in conference play.

Entering Friday’s matchup, UNC needed a win just as much as Syracuse. While the Orange sit in the basement of the ACC at No. 15, the Tar Heels sit a mere three places ahead.

North Carolina came out aggressive in the first set scoring five of the first six points. It embarked on an early 3-0 run before SU’s Cherlin Antonio registered her first kill. Antonio ended the contest with a team-high 10 kills. Yet, she’d prove to be the Orange’s lone bright spot amid a sloppy offensive display.

“I think the movement on the court in general was not very good at the beginning of the match,” Ganesharatnam said. “So it’s all about creating angles. If you can create angles you have more weapons in the arsenal. So I think our feed just needed to move better and faster and more efficient.”

Syracuse’s play improved as the set continued, profiting off of a series of unforced UNC errors. The Tar Heels ended the game with 19 attack errors and seven service errors. An endless slew of mistakes helped prevent North Carolina from gaining momentum.

Although UNC’s errors persisted, junior Mabrey Shaffmaster excelled. The outside hitter recorded 17 kills on the evening, her highest mark in two months. She ended the first set with eight kills and helped lead a 6-0 North Carolina run to end the first set. Shaffmaster later clinched the 25-18 opening-set win with a kill.

Syracuse struck first in the second set, jumping out to a 3-0 lead. But UNC responded quickly, scoring three straight to draw level. SU retook the advantage following a combined block from Antonio and Zharia Harris-Waddy. Antonio had five, while Harris-Waddy chipped in with seven — both of which were career highs. The team mustered just 18 blocks in total.

Aside from Antonio’s impressive two-way ability and Harris-Waddy’s stellar contributions, Raina Hughes re-entered the lineup after a length injury. According to Ganesharatnam, Hughes’ return translates to more depth and a stronger defensive presence.

“(Tonight) we had Lauren, we had Laila, we had Raina in the front row. Just a week ago, we had Greta, and we had Veronica in the front row. Just having natural hitters that are equipped to be natural blockers, that makes a big difference,” Ganesharatnam said.

Despite totaling more blocks than the Tar Heels, UNC went on multiple runs in the second set. It scored at least four straight points on three separate occasions throughout the period. Ultimately, the set culminated in SU relinquishing a 22-18 lead, allowing UNC to chart seven unanswered points. The Tar Heels eventually won the set 25-22.

“There are different aspects in the game that we didn’t execute together. We had some good passes, but then we didn’t execute on the offense,” Ganesharatnam said. “Our chances of winning that set percentage wise was very high. We were just short of one execution.”

Following a back-and-forth second set, the third was arguably the most competitive. Both teams went on runs before an Antonio kill knotted the score at 24-24. But, her heroic efforts were spoiled by an attack error immediately after, gifting UNC possession and, eventually, the win in sweeping fashion.

Published on October 14, 2023 at 12:05 am