
Orange Set to Host Duke and #21 UNC
10/15/2025 5:51:00 PM | Volleyball
Syracuse volleyball (11-5, 3-3 ACC) returns to the Women's Building this weekend for a pair of matches against schools from the North Carolina's Triangle. The Orange will face Duke on Friday evening at 6:00 PM before hosting #21 North Carolina on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 PM.
Syracuse enters the weekend sitting eighth in the ACC standings with a 3-3 conference record. The Orange have posted wins over Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, and Cal while dropping matches to #6 Louisville, #6 Stanford, and Virginia.
CONTINUING THE ACCTION
- Through three weekends of ACC play, the Orange are 3-3 and sit eighth in the conference standings.
- Syracuse boasts wins over Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, and Cal while having dropped matches to a pair of ranked opponents in #6 Louisville and #6 Stanford as well as Virginia.
- The Orange will be home again this weekend, set to clash with a pair of schools from the North Carolina Triangle in Duke and #21 North Carolina.
- The weekend presents an opportunity for Syracuse to climb the conference standings.
NEW NAMES, BIG IMPACTS
- Head Coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam and his staff brought in 10 new student athletes to round out the 2025 roster.
- Newcomers lead the Orange in nearly every statistical category with Gabby McLaughlin leading all Syracuse players in kills (238), Tehya Maeva pacing the team in assists (533), Reese Teves leading in aces (18), and Rana Yamada topping the team in digs (207).
THE OFFENSE RUNS THROUGH TEHYA
- Tehya Maeva is just 14 assists away from eclipsing 2,000 career assists.
- Maeva has tallied 533 assists this season and is recording a career-high 9.19 assists per set.
- Since starting ACC play, Maeva has racked up 199 assists, the seventh-most by any player in the conference.
- Maeva posted a career-high 53 assists against Virginia on October 5.
GABBY GETS IT DONE
- Gabby McLaughlin leads the Orange in kills with 238 through 16 matches and was named MVP in both the UAlbany Invitational and Salt City Classic.
- McLaughlin has recorded 10 double-doubles this season.
- Since starting conference play, McLaughlin leads all Syracuse players with 93 kills, the fourth-most by any player in ACC play.
- McLaughlin has tallied 21 kills or more in half of the Orange's ACC matches, including a season-high 23 against Virginia.
SO GREAT, SOANA!
- Soana Lea'ea continues to dominate at the net for Syracuse, recording at least one block in each match this season.
- Lea'ea added six blocks this past weekend, including a team-high five rejections against Cal.
- Lea'ea is a weapon offensively in addition to her strong play at the net, recording 98 kills this season.
THE REMARKABLE RANA
- Rana Yamada has anchored the defense, leading the way with 207 digs.
- Yamada has been a threat from the service line, tallying 15 aces on the year.
- She has put her teammates in opportunistic spots as well, recording 71 assists at the libero position.
NOT IN OUR HOUSE
- The Syracuse defense has held opponents to a .182 hitting percentage this season, the fifth-best mark in the conference.
- The Orange have held opponents to a hitting percentage under .200 in nine of their 16 matches.
- The defense averages 15.15 digs per set, good for the third-highest mark in the ACC.
SCOUTING DUKE
- The Orange will get their weekend started with a match against the Duke Blue Devils.
- Duke is 5-12 on the year and has posted a 2-4 record in ACC play.
- This marks the 17th all-time meeting between Duke and Syracuse, with the Blue Devils owning a narrow 9-7 lead.
- The Blue Devils are hitting .193 as a team while opponents are hitting .223.
- Duke boasts two outside hitters with 190+ kills, with Ashby Zubchevich and Taylor Williams leading the offensive attack.
- Mailinh Godschall is the Blue Devils' and ACC's leader in digs with 289 total at a rate of 4.52 digs per set.
SCOUTING UNC
- Winners of seven straight matches, the Tar Heels come into the weekend red-hot.
- Syracuse and the Tar Heels have met 16 times prior to this meeting, with UNC leading the series 13-3.
- UNC is 13-2 overall and 6-0 in ACC play this year, seeing them climb the AVCA rankings to #21 this week.
- Since starting ACC play, the Tar Heels have dropped just two sets and have swept four of their six matches.
- The Tar Heels put the volleyball community on notice early this season, sweeping then-ranked #11 Florida for a signature win.
- Safi Hampton is the Tar Heels' top option on offense, swinging an impressive .306 with 210 kills this season, the sixth-most in the ACC.
- Jackie Taylor has been a force at the net for the Tar Heels, compiling 75 blocks this season, the fifth-most in the ACC.
BROADCAST INFORMATION:
- Duke: Friday, October 17, 6:00 PM - ACCNx
- North Carolina: Sunday, October 19, 2:00 PM - ACCN
FOLLOW THE ORANGE:
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