Rutgers and Seton Hall aren’t elite teams in the Big East. But at this point in the season, Syracuse can’t afford to underestimate anyone.

‘Seton Hall has beaten Cincinnati, who’s normally top in our conference, and Rutgers beat Seton Hall, so these are great matchups for us,’ senior defensive specialist Ashley Williams said.

Sitting at 3-3 and eighth place in the Big East, the Orange (14-8, 3-3 Big East) could use a pair of conference wins to solidify its standing for the Big East tournament. A pair of home games in the Women’s Building this weekend against the Scarlet Knights (8-15, 1-5) on Friday at 5 p.m. and the Pirates (13-8, 4-2) Sunday at 2 p.m. makes for an ideal opportunity for SU.

These will be the first Big East games since SU fired longtime head coach Jing Pu. The Orange played its first game without Pu on Wednesday, defeating Binghamton 3-0.

Syracuse has been strong at home this year, posting a 5-3 record in the Women’s Building. The Orange also upset third-place Villanova at home two weeks ago.

This will also be the first home match as head coach for Kelly Morrisroe, who was promoted to interim head coach from assistant with the firing of Pu.

‘It’s definitely going to be different, but like I said, our goal is just going to be to win the next games coming up,’ outside hitter Noemie Lefebvre said.

The interim head coach couldn’t have asked for a better team to kick off her Big East coaching career against. Syracuse has won seven straight matches against the Scarlet Knights, including six sweeps.

But this game means much more for the Orange as a whole. Two losses could set the team back in its Big East tournament contention. Morrisroe doesn’t believe the turmoil will distract the team from its ultimate goal.

‘Our girls are doing a great job at staying focused,’ Morrisroe said. ‘We’ve got nine matches left, and that’s the most important thing, what we spend our time doing here on the court, making sure we’re improving our volleyball skills and continuing that so we can get through the rest of the season and end on a high note.’

Part of improving will be taking both the good and bad away from key matches. In particular, SU is focused on a four-set loss to Marquette — a team undefeated in the Big Big East — last Saturday.

Syracuse did some good things against the Golden Eagles, taking the first set 25-18, but made too many mistakes during a 25-14 manhandling in the fourth and final set.

‘We can take away that we are a great team,’ Williams said. ‘I don’t think anybody thought that we’d go four with Marquette. I don’t think anybody thought that we’d go (25-23) and 25-23 and so it just shows the potential that we have on this team.’

And though the Orange wants to extend its winning streak over Rutgers, Sunday’s matchup with Seton Hall will be even more important.

Heading into the weekend’s matches, SU sits just a game back from the Pirates for fifth place in the Big East. Each team plays a match before Sunday, so the Orange and SHU could be tied entering the game.

Even with all the turmoil surrounding the program, the Orange has the potential to get into good position to head to the Big East tournament for the first time since 2009.

To do so, SU must make some noise this weekend. After this brief homestand, the Orange kicks off a four-game road trip that includes matches with Louisville, which is undefeated in conference play, and third-place Cincinnati before closing the season with a pair of games at home.

‘Big East is definitely still the goal,’ Williams said. ‘It’s still in mind. We’ve still got the same team, and I’m definitely confident in what we can do.’

dbwilson@syr.edu