Year in Review: Yamada Anchors Syracuse Defense in First Season
1/16/2026 4:35:00 PM | Volleyball
Rana Yamada took a circuitous route to achieving her goal of playing Division I volleyball, making stops at a pair of junior colleges before making the move to Syracuse, New York and join the Orange. In her first year in the Salt City, Yamada collected 389 digs as the team's primary libero – the most in a single season by a Syracuse player since Belle Sand notched 540 in 2017.
Native to Kanagawa, Japan, Yamada came to the United States first to play for Central Wyoming before transferring to Western Arizona for her sophomore season. Yamada won her region's respective Libero of the Year Award at both stops before landing an offer in Syracuse to compete in the ACC. Head Coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam said Yamada adjusted well to the rigors that come with a Division I volleyball schedule.
"This was certainly a learning experience for Rana," Ganesharatnam said "The length of the season, the travel, the intensity were adjustments, but she did a great job for us. She competed for us in preseason and camp and really earned that libero position and held on to that spot."
Yamada got her Syracuse career started with eight digs in her debut against Niagara before recording four aces and 17 digs the following night against Rider. The libero went on to record double digit digs in seven of the next nine matches, including 14 in her ACC debut against Notre Dame.
She contributed on the offensive side as well, racking up 99 assists over the course of the season. Playing before a packed crowd, the former junior college libero recorded her first Division I double-double with 11 assists and 14 digs in a four-set victory over California.
Yamada grew more comfortable as the season went on and was the anchor for the Syracuse defense. She shined when the Orange needed her most, becoming the first Syracuse player to record 25 digs in a match since 2021 when she did so in the five-set thriller victory over Boston College. She topped that mark once more when she recorded 28 against NC State in the final weeks of the season. Ganesharatnam expressed enthusiasm at her developments as the season progressed and expects her to continue to grow as a libero.
"She competed for us in preseason and camp and really earned that libero position and held on to that spot," Ganesharatnam said. "We have high expectations for her. She's going into the season as the returning starting libero and we expect her to set the tone and take on that responsibility. She physically and skill-wise has the ability to be one of the top liberos going into the season this year."
The fifth-year head coach added that with a year of experience at the highest level under her belt, she's poised to make a big leap.
"After going through that first season, she knows exactly what to expect," Ganesharatnam said. "She knows how to prepare for it physically and mentally. I think she's going to do really well this year. We expect her to do a very good job for us this year."
Yamada played for Yokohama Aoba Eternal in Japan while attending Kawasaki Tachibana High School. Her father, Takahiro, was a member of the Japan National Soccer Team from 1992-94. He scored once in a friendly against Australia in 1994. In addition to his time on the national team, he enjoyed a professional career in Japan from 1990-2003 playing in the JSL Division 1 as well as J1 and J2 Leagues.
Native to Kanagawa, Japan, Yamada came to the United States first to play for Central Wyoming before transferring to Western Arizona for her sophomore season. Yamada won her region's respective Libero of the Year Award at both stops before landing an offer in Syracuse to compete in the ACC. Head Coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam said Yamada adjusted well to the rigors that come with a Division I volleyball schedule.
"This was certainly a learning experience for Rana," Ganesharatnam said "The length of the season, the travel, the intensity were adjustments, but she did a great job for us. She competed for us in preseason and camp and really earned that libero position and held on to that spot."
Yamada got her Syracuse career started with eight digs in her debut against Niagara before recording four aces and 17 digs the following night against Rider. The libero went on to record double digit digs in seven of the next nine matches, including 14 in her ACC debut against Notre Dame.
A look back at some of Rana Yamada's top digs from the 2025 season 👏#LiveTheDREAM pic.twitter.com/Nz8pJ3fywZ
— Syracuse Volleyball (@CuseVB) December 15, 2025
She contributed on the offensive side as well, racking up 99 assists over the course of the season. Playing before a packed crowd, the former junior college libero recorded her first Division I double-double with 11 assists and 14 digs in a four-set victory over California.
Yamada grew more comfortable as the season went on and was the anchor for the Syracuse defense. She shined when the Orange needed her most, becoming the first Syracuse player to record 25 digs in a match since 2021 when she did so in the five-set thriller victory over Boston College. She topped that mark once more when she recorded 28 against NC State in the final weeks of the season. Ganesharatnam expressed enthusiasm at her developments as the season progressed and expects her to continue to grow as a libero.
"She competed for us in preseason and camp and really earned that libero position and held on to that spot," Ganesharatnam said. "We have high expectations for her. She's going into the season as the returning starting libero and we expect her to set the tone and take on that responsibility. She physically and skill-wise has the ability to be one of the top liberos going into the season this year."
The fifth-year head coach added that with a year of experience at the highest level under her belt, she's poised to make a big leap.
"After going through that first season, she knows exactly what to expect," Ganesharatnam said. "She knows how to prepare for it physically and mentally. I think she's going to do really well this year. We expect her to do a very good job for us this year."
Yamada played for Yokohama Aoba Eternal in Japan while attending Kawasaki Tachibana High School. Her father, Takahiro, was a member of the Japan National Soccer Team from 1992-94. He scored once in a friendly against Australia in 1994. In addition to his time on the national team, he enjoyed a professional career in Japan from 1990-2003 playing in the JSL Division 1 as well as J1 and J2 Leagues.
Players Mentioned
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