After season-opening sweep, Syracuse rises to No. 5 in AVCA poll

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The American Volleyball Coaches Association ranked Syracuse volleyball No. 5 in the country on Wednesday after the team defeated Pittsburgh twice this past weekend, once in five sets and once in straight-sets. The team is now the highest-ranked in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

This is Syracuse’s first time in program history being ranked inside the AVCA’s top 15 since the association established the rankings in 1982. The Orange’s opening weekend showed a stark difference from last year’s team, which never rose above .500.

Syracuse is now behind No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Baylor, No. 3 Kentucky and No. 4 Florida. Notre Dame, the Orange’s opponent this weekend, is just below them in the No. 6 spot. Pitt, who lost both their games against the Orange, are ranked No. 10. Six of the 15 teams on the list are ACC members, and three of the four teams Syracuse takes on this season are represented, with the exception being Boston College.

The AVCA rankings didn’t include teams from the Pac-12 or Big Ten conferences, as their seasons haven’t started yet. Teams from those conferences have won 19 NCAA titles since 2000, but an ACC team has never won the NCAA title. Florida State’s semifinal run in 2011 was the only time a conference representative made it to the final four.

The Orange look to stay undefeated and ranked when they travel to Notre Dame this weekend for a two-game series.