Syracuse drops 21st straight set, loses to No. 11 Georgia Tech

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With Georgia Tech leading 4-3 in the third set, Lauren McCabe saved a would-be kill from Bianca Bertolino. McCabe’s set led to a spike from Raina Hughes.

Lauren Sanden dove on the floor and dug the ball safely, which eventually led to a DeAndra Pierce kill. After Pierce’s kill, Georgia Tech scored three straight points, forcing Syracuse to call a timeout.

Syracuse (2-20, 0-12 Atlantic Coast Conference) dropped another straight-set game, losing to No. 11 Georgia Tech (19-3, 10-2 ACC). The Orange are currently on a 12-game losing streak, dropping their last six games in straight sets. Laila Smith and Zharia Harris-Waddy combined for 13 kills, but couldn’t help the team break through Georgia Tech’s defense. Instead, Syracuse had 16 offensive errors and 24 total.

“I do think we have to minimize our unforced errors…it’s a process we’ve been working on throughout the season,” Syracuse head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam said.

Entering the match, Georgia Tech ranked first in the ACC in digs per set with 15.41. Against Syracuse, the Yellow Jackets accumulated 52 digs during the game with the Orange struggling to find holes in the defense.

“They have a very good system and everybody is very disciplined executing the system,” Ganesharatnam said of Georgia Tech’s defense. “Our intention was to put pressure on the pin attackers on defense (and) keep them busy.”

Syracuse started the first set strong. Veronica Sierzant set a pass for Smith’s kill, then registered a kill herself, putting the Orange up 6-4. Syracuse’s success was short-lived as Georgia Tech gained rhythm on offense. Errors led to the Yellow Jackets establishing a 15-11 lead.

After a timeout from Syracuse, GT’s Afedo Manyang took over. Manyang recorded three kills to put Georgia Tech up 20-13. A block from Anna Boezi put the Yellow Jackets within a point of winning the first set before Pierce finished it off.

Syracuse’s errors continued in the second set, gifting Georgia Tech points. Bertolina led the Yellow Jackets’ offense, registering five kills. With other alternative hitters adding on, GT led 16-10 before a Syracuse timeout.

Coming back from the timeout, Harris-Waddy and Sierzant put up kills as the Orange rallied for three straight points, cutting the GT lead to 16-13. Later in the set, Georgia Tech called a timeout while leading 20-16.

“We wanted to keep our offense balanced and give them different looks,” Ganesharatnam said. “We told our right-side blocker to be closer to the antenna…they minimize the movements they have to take to close out on that set.”

Manyang came off the bench out of the timeout, helping Georgia Tech close out the set. Manyang helped finish out the second set with a kill, as Georgia Tech went up 2-0 after a 25-17 win.

In the final set, Manyang dominated again. Her kill put Georgia Tech up 12-4 and on the other side, Syracuse couldn’t find any space in GT’s defense. The Yellow Jackets constantly dug out Syracuse’s spikes at the net to keep the ball alive.

“(Georgia Tech) is a good team. They can do a lot of things very well…they can keep the system very simple and just focus on executing at a high level,” Ganesharatnam said.

Trailing 20-9, Smith and Hughes tallied kills to try and keep the Orange alive. But Manyang and Kali Engeman continued to put pressure on Syracuse outside, forcing McCabe into an error. An attacking error by Greta Schlichter finished the match as Syracuse surrendered its 18th straight-set loss of the season.

“It’s apparent (that) we’re making a lot of errors, we’re making lapses of just locking in and playing,” Harris-Waddy said. “I think this team was a very beneficial team for us to play…It helps us better those skills.”