Orange Start ACC-Play With Road Victory Over Notre Dame

Friday, September 26

South Bend, Ind.

6:30 PM

Syracuse University

9-2,1-0ACC

Notre Dame

3-6,0-1ACC

Syracuse

Notre Dame

Orange Start ACC-Play With Road Victory Over Notre Dame

9/26/2025 9:43:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

The Syracuse University Volleyball team (9-2, 1-0 ACC) hit the road this weekend to get its ACC slate schedule underway, starting with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Friday evening. The Orange got its ACC slate started on the right foot, earning a convincing 3-1 win over the Fighting Irish at Purcell Pavilion.

Skylar George was seemingly unstoppable on Friday, notching her second double-double of the season with a 15-kill, 21-dig, and four block performance. 21 digs marks a single-match career-high for George. Gabriella McLaughlin joined George in notching a double-double with 13 kills and 17 digs. She added a solo block as well.

Zharia Harris-Waddy was dominant from the service line, posting four aces to go along with 10 kills and six blocks. Tehya Maeva once again ran the offense, dishing out 38 assists in the win.

The Orange recorded 14 blocks as a team in the win, tying a single-match season high. 'Cuse also picked up 10 aces in the win, tied for the second most in a match this year. Notre Dame mustered a hitting percentage just north of .100 against the Syracuse defense.

The win elevates the Orange to 9-2 on the year and start the ACC schedule with a win.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The start did not go as planned for the Orange. The Fighting Irish offense forced the Orange to play out of structure to start as they quickly fell behind, 0-5. A few Notre Dame errors opened the door for Syracuse and the Orange capitalized. Syracuse went on a 12-4 run, forcing Notre Dame to take a timeout. The two squads battled to the end of set one, with Syracuse able to earn a 25-23 win in the opening frame.

The second set seemed to be all Orange, leading 20-16 and dominating the service line as well as winning the battle at the net. Yet, Notre Dame came out of a timeout on a 6-0 run to answer back with a 25-23 set win of their own.

It was a block party in set three for the Orange, notching four key blocks in the frame while holding the Fighting Irish to a .114 hitting percentage. Syracuse also recorded four aces en route to a 25-18 win in the set.

The defense shone through once more in the fourth and final set of the match. Holding Notre Dame to a .044 hitting percentage while racking up three more blocks allowed the Orange to seal off a 25-22 fourth set victory and earn the ACC win.

NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS

Skylar George notched her second double-double of the season with 15 kills and a career-high 21 digs to go with four blocks.
Gabby McLaughlin has now recorded eight double-doubles in 11 matches for the Orange, posting 13 kills and 17 digs in the win.
Zharia Harris-Waddy recorded four aces in the victory, her most in a single match since her freshman year when she had six against Cornell.
Harris-Waddy also led the Orange in blocks with six.
The Orange held Notre Dame to a .121 hitting percentage in the victory.
The Orange dominated the service line, posting 10 aces to Notre Dame's three.
Syracuse tallied 14 blocks against Notre Dame, tied for the most in a single match this season.

UP NEXT
The Orange will now travel to Kentucky to take on the No. 6 ranked Louisville Cardinals. The matchup with Louisville is set for a 1 PM start at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena and stream on ACCNx.

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