Syracuse falls 3 spots to No. 8 in AVCA poll

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Syracuse dropped to No. 8 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s rankings on Tuesday, falling three spots from last week after losing two matches at Notre Dame.

This is the second consecutive week that Syracuse (2-2, 2-2 Atlantic Coast) was ranked in the AVCA’s top 15. The team was ranked for the first time in program history last week, claiming the No. 5 spot.

After sweeping defending Atlantic Coast Conference champion Pittsburgh two weeks ago, the Orange were unable to keep that momentum against Notre Dame last weekend. They lost in four sets Friday and in straight sets the following day. Despite opening Saturday’s second set with five straight points, SU still lost the set 26-24, the only time in the match that they scored 20 points.

Notre Dame (3-0, 3-0 ACC) rose from No. 6 to No. 5 and remains undefeated heading into its bye-week at the midseason mark.

The ACVA’s rankings don’t include teams from the Big Ten or Pac-12, which houses 19 of the 20 most recent NCAA champions. Those conferences will start their seasons in the spring, ahead of the NCAA championship in late April. Syracuse and the rest of the ACC are playing conference-only schedules this fall.

Syracuse travels to No. 9 Louisville (2-1, 2-1 ACC) this weekend for its final two road games of the season. The Orange then head back home and close the season against Boston College on Oct. 16 and 17.