Syracuse splits home-and-home series with Boston College

Syracuse volleyball (13–7, 5–5 ACC) split its home-and-home series with Boston College (15–7, 4–6 ACC) this week, winning a five-set thriller in Boston on Wednesday before falling 3–0 at home Friday night.

Wednesday’s meeting in Chestnut Hill marked one of Syracuse’s most resilient performances of the season. After dropping the opening set, the Orange stormed back to take the second before falling in extra points in the third. Facing elimination late in the fourth, Syracuse trailed 19–22 and fought off three match points to win the set, 30–28. The team then closed the deciding fifth set on an 8–2 run to earn a 15–12 victory.

“This was all heart,” head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam said. “Mentally, this was a really strong performance because physically this was not great execution at times, but we stuck in it mentally and fought all the way through it.”

The win featured a number of career nights across the lineup. Freshman outside hitter Marie Laurio was the difference maker, moving to right side hitter where she excelled. She posted her first career double-double with personal bests in both kills (10) and digs (13).

“I’m really comfortable with Tehya and we’re always getting extra reps in,” Laurio said. “Switching over [to the right side] is different, but I’m ready to adjust to it.”

Her setter Tehya Maeva had a career day herself with 54 assists, while libero Rana Yamada posted 25 digs — the most in a single match for Syracuse since 2021.

Gabby McLaughlin recorded a Syracuse career-high 25.5 points, leading the team with 22 kills, while Soana Lea’ea added double-digit blocks for the first time in Orange.

Less than 48 hours later, the Orange couldn’t sustain their energy on a quick turnaround. They struggled to find rhythm in a 3–0 loss to Boston College at home.

“The team that goes away first is at the disadvantage,” Ganesharatnam said. “We had to travel to Boston College while they stayed home, and after the game we got back to Syracuse at 4:30 a.m. on Thursday. It wasn’t a matter of not being ready to play — it was just a bit of an empty tank.”

There was a noticeable box score difference between Wednesday and Friday. Syracuse had 15 more kills than the Eagles in the first meeting and held Boston College to a .135 hitting percentage, while the defensive stats were nearly even.

Syracuse continued its offensive output early Friday, besting Boston College 16–13 in kills during the first set. But dominant blocking gave the Eagles an edge, as they out-blocked the Orange 7–1 to take the opening set.

“They’re a really good blocking team, and we know we have undersized hitters,” Ganesharatnam said. “If your legs are a little heavy and you miss a couple inches in your jump, it makes a big difference.”

The early hole was one Syracuse couldn’t recover from. It was all Boston College afterward, as the Eagles hit .306 — their highest percentage in ACC play this season. Boston College used that efficiency to edge Syracuse 25–23 in the second set before closing the third 25–6.

“We traveled a lot this week, but we aren’t going to use that as an excuse,” Maeva said. “Every team travels, and we can’t let that get in the way.”

The Orange will get extended rest before traveling to Florida next weekend to face Florida State and No. 15 Miami.