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Following a 3-0 start to its season, Syracuse’s women’s volleyball (5-0, Atlantic Coast Conference) team traveled to New York City to participate in the Big Apple Tournament. SU began the tournament’s first day by defeating Columbia (0-1, Ivy League) 3-0. Then, the Orange continued their dominance, defeating Fordham (1-3, Atlantic 10) 3-1. Syracuse vies for its sixth straight win against Manhattan (0-3, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) tomorrow on Day 2 of the Big Apple Tournament.

The Orange won their match versus Columbia in straight sets. After cruising through the first two sets, which it each won 25-15, SU had an uphill battle to win the third set. Though it trailed 15-10 midway through the set, Syracuse stormed back and won 25-22.

The match was one of the Orange’s cleanest of the season thus far, as they only committed 10 errors. Meanwhile, the Lions had 22 errors. Throughout SU’s come-from-behind third-set victory, Columbia suffered eight errors. Additionally, Syracuse blocked nine shots compared to just two from the Tigers. SU was led by Skylar George and Ava Palm, who had 12 and 11 kills, respectively.

In the second leg of its doubleheader versus Fordham, Syracuse faced an 11-0 deficit to start the game partly due to six errors. The Orange recorded nine errors in the first set losing 25-15. In the second set, SU went down 3-0 before embarking on an 8-2 run. Syracuse kept the Rams at arms reach for the rest of the set, never conceding the lead and winning 25-20.

Syracuse had full control in the third set, winning 25-14, its biggest margin on the day. In the fourth set, SU raced out to a comfortable 22-13 lead. However, Fordham roared back, making the score 24-21. Still, Syracuse won the set after a kill by Palm sealed the deal keeping the Orange undefeated.

Palm again starred, as she recorded 19 kills, three aces and seven digs. The CSU Bakersfield grad transfer now averages 4.91 points per set and 13.6 kills per game. George notched another 12 kills while Sara Wasiakowska added 13 kills. The Orange also got a boost from freshman Emma Ortiz, who recorded four aces — her first of the year. SU had 13 aces compared to Fordham’s two. After going down 11-0 in the first set, Syracuse outscored the Rams 90-80 en route to its victory.

Syracuse head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam gave sophomores Zharia Harris-Waddy and Mira Ledermueller their first starts of the season. The pair started in both matches and played all sevens sets on the day. The two sophomores played a combined 166 sets last season but with SU’s influx of new players, their minutes have decreased this year. Ledermueller recorded 29 and 43 assists against Columbia and Fordham, respectively. She also had a team-high 16 digs against Fordham.

With the two sophomores playing big minutes, setter Veronica Sierzant and middle blocker Anastasiia Nikolnikova did not play for the first time this season. Sierzant and Nikolnikova were both big contributors in last week’s Salt City Classic. Freshman Pola Bujnarowska made her collegiate debut starting for the Orange against Fordham.

The Polish right-side hitter recorded two attacking attempts as she only played the first set. Fellow true freshman Ashlee Gnau played in three sets against Fordham and recorded five digs. Gnau had only played one set previously against Canisius. Senior captain Klara Zarnovicka recorded one kill and three digs in only one set against Fordham. Zarnovicka appeared in her third match of the season after missing the previous year due to injury.

Liberos Ortiz and Greta Schlichter both played all three sets against Columbia, but it was the freshman Ortiz who played four sets to Schlichter’s one against Fordham. In her short time in New York, Ortiz has made an instant impact with 11 digs and five against the Rams. Ortiz has 43 digs on the year averaging 2.53 per set.

Published on September 6, 2024 at 9:18 pm

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