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Skylar George entered the transfer portal in early December 2023. Within two hours, she received over 20 emails from colleges. Two weeks later, George was on Syracuse’s campus.

After unexpectedly redshirting her freshman year, George transferred from Utah. Just a year after riding the bench, she now ranks in the top three on SU in kills, digs and aces.

As a senior at Stratford High School in Houston, Texas, George was one of the best players in the area. She was an AVCA All-American and registered 1100 kills in her three years on varsity. Yet, she struggled to break in with Utah. George was forced to use a redshirt year, staying home when the Utes traveled. Now with Syracuse, George has become an integral piece to help the Orange to their best start to a season since 2010.

Entering her freshman year, George was excited about the prospect of playing in a high-level program like Utah, which has made six of the last eight NCAA Tournaments.

“(The coaches) were telling me they see a lot of potential for (me at Utah),” George said. “They made it seem like I was coming in and would have a fair chance to compete.”

During her preseason meeting with the coaches, George was taken aback when they wanted her to sit back for a few years before receiving consistent minutes. But George saw herself in a different role.

George slowly felt like she was drifting away from the team as the season progressed. She was Utah’s lone non-injury redshirt. She wasn’t even given the chance to regularly travel for away games. Most nights, George sat alone, frustrated, as she watched SU’s games from her room.

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“For me, the most important thing was to feel valued. At that point in the season, I didn’t know myself as a player,” George said.

She was used as a libero in practice and never hit, which made her feel like she got worse as the year progressed. When the season ended, George entered the transfer portal. As offers started coming in, George called Amy Burk, the director and lead recruiting coordinator of her volleyball club, Houston Skyline. Burk helped her through the process, offering advice before she talked with different coaches.

“She really wanted to make sure she did it right the next go around,” Burk said.

George wanted to go to another school with high-level competition, and Syracuse fit that mold. The Atlantic Coast Conference had six teams in the Week 5 American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 Rankings.

George also wanted to be valued. When she was being recruited as a freshman, George contacted Syracuse but never got a response. This time, when she contacted SU, it answered immediately.

Initially, George didn’t feel a strong connection with the coaches, but SU remained persistent.

“It was more of them wanting me to come here than me trying to convince them to like me, and that’s what I wanted,” George said.

Syracuse’s coaching staff went back and watched her high school hitting, since she had no hitting clips from Utah, immediately noticing her potential. In a December Zoom meeting, head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam told George he wanted her on the court. That’s all she needed to hear.

“We have known about (George) for a while,” Ganesharatnam said. “We’ve seen her on the recruiting trail as a high school player, so we knew what she could bring to the plate. When she was available in the portal, we were very happy about it.”

After redshirting with Utah last season, Skylar George has created a key role within Syracuse’s offense in 2024. Aaron Hammer | Staff Photographer

Before the season started, George asked Ganesharatnam what would always keep her on the court. He said he needed consistency.

In her first college game against the New Jersey Institute of Technology on Aug. 30, George’s inexperience showed. She only recorded one kill and a -.300 hitting percentage. That same day, though, George turned the page against Lafayette. She tallied 11 kills at a .417 hitting percentage, along with 10 digs.

“She’s a tremendous player, a true six rotation outside (hitter) who can pass consistently, play good defense, but also can perform at a high level on offense,” Ganesharatnam said of George.

However, George struggled with consistency in SU’s final five nonconference games, averaging a negative hitting clip in those matches. In her first ACC game against North Carolina, her offensive struggles continued. She only registered two kills in a 3-0 loss. Yet, against Duke, George delivered her highest kill total (12) since she tallied 19 against Siena in early September.

Ganesharatnam has made George a key point of Syracuse’s aggressive approach, with her averaging over 25 total attempts per game. The “standard” of Syracuse volleyball is improving, according to George, and she’s been a big part of it.

“We’re still all trying to mesh right now,” George said. “We’re still trying to get that communication down. My expectations for us are effort. If we do that, we will have some really good pieces this year, and we’ll surprise teams in the ACC.”

Published on September 30, 2024 at 10:09 pm

Contact Quinn: qdpostma@syr.edu