Notre Dame hands Syracuse 1st conference loss in 3-0 sweep
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After dropping the first set, the Orange jumped out to a 7-6 lead in the second frame before it all unraveled, as Notre Dame picked up seven consecutive points to secure a comfortable lead. Syracuse committed three attack errors during the run, while three different Fighting Irish recorded a kill.
Trailing 13-7, Syracuse responded with a run of its own, cutting the deficit to just one point on multiple occasions. But it did not come back and ultimately dropped the set, 25-23. From there, the Fighting Irish (6-9, 1-4 Atlantic Coast) were well on their way to what ended up as a three-set sweep over the Orange (8-7, 4-1 ACC).
Notre Dame entered Friday night without a conference win, while Syracuse was one of only three teams undefeated in ACC matchups. But head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam said the Orange knew entering the match that Notre Dame’s record “did not reflect its real strength” — something that became apparent when the Fighting Irish overcame Syracuse’s first-set lead, ultimately winning the set, 25-21.
Syracuse’s tendency to allow Notre Dame to go on extensive scoring runs was a significant contributing factor to the loss, as Ganesharatnam said the Orange needed to do a better job of preventing such runs. “Controlling the ball on the outside as much as possible, slowing things down and then executing on a higher level” is key to minimizing the damage done during an opponent’s run, he said.
“The game of volleyball is dictated by runs,” Ganesharatnam said. “So whenever you allow another team to go on that much of a run, it’s not good. We have to do a better job of maintaining that, controlling that and keeping the runs to two or three points.”
But after taking a two-set lead, Notre Dame started and finished the third set with a pair of runs — the first being a 6-2 scoring stretch and the second being a 5-1 run — to put the match away. Even as Syracuse called timeouts, the Fighting Irish retained momentum and never allowed the Orange to gain control.
Paris Thompson entered the match with just 29 kills on the season, but she tacked on an additional 20 in only three sets to carry the Fighting Irish as the only player on the team with double-digit kills. Her 20 kills led both teams, as did Phyona Schrader’s 34 assists.
Polina Shemanova moved to within 10 kills of SU’s all-time leading career kills record with 15 on the night — the only Syracuse player to reach double digits. Riley Hoffman led the Orange with 22 assists, while Lauren Woodford tailed her with 11. Viktoriia Lokhmanchuk and Bre Walp added 9 and 7 kills, respectively.
The biggest statistical difference between the two teams came in the digs department, with Notre Dame recording 48 to Syracuse’s 35. The Fighting Irish’s ball placement on the attack — specifically in the middle of the court — forced the Orange to try and adjust, thus causing further communication issues as the team was not “on the same page,” Ganesharatnam said.
While the Fighting Irish were the first ACC team to give the Orange fits, Shemanova felt that they weren’t doing anything different from SU’s previous opponents to throw Syracuse off its game. Instead, the loss stemmed from a lack of execution and aggression, she said.
“We didn’t do our job,” Shemanova said. “I don’t think Notre Dame did anything extraordinary — they were organized, they were doing their job, they were humble, they had energy — but I don’t think there was anything that was killing us. It was mostly our mistakes.”
