As students prepare for midterms, the Binghamton University women’s volleyball team will be getting ready for some tests of its own. After defeating two winless conference opponents in their last two matches, the Bearcats will have to deal with a pair of 2-0 conference foes at home this weekend.

“Their confidence is high,” said Binghamton University head coach Glenn Kiriyama. “They’re playing pretty well. They’ve played a couple of teams now in the America East and they’ve done well. Hopefully they can carry that over into the next few weekends here. I think the opponents will be a little bit tougher. So we’re working hard to get ready for that.”

Binghamton (10-8, 2-0 America East) is a team riding a four-game win streak entering the weekend. The projected No. 1 finisher in the conference is coming off a pair of conference wins against the University of New Hampshire and the University of Hartford, but those two teams are a combined 0-8 in conference play so far this year.

The Bearcats come home for the first time in conference play this season. The West Gym has been friendly to the home team, as BU is 4-0 in home matches on the year. The last time the team played at home was on Sept. 30, so the team is excited to be playing at home again, Kiriyama said.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County will be the first opponent to face off against Binghamton. The Retrievers are 2-0 in conference as well, having also beaten the Wildcats and Hawks. They are 10-7 overall, having won their last four matches and eight of their last nine. In the first two matches the Bearcats and Retrievers played against one another last year, no set was decided by more than five points. In their final showdown in the America East tournament, the teams went the full five sets to decide a winner. Binghamton won all three matches.

“UMBC is one of the tougher opponents,” Kiriyama said. “Last year every match was close with them, so we’re looking for a good game and hopefully we’ll be able to play up to our potential.”

While no Retrievers have won America East Player of the Week honors, two freshmen have been named Rookie of the Week. The Retrievers’ outside hitter Ali Loynachan has won it once, while teammate and fellow outside hitter Naomi Bush has won it three times, the most of any rookie in the conference this year. The Retrievers feature a balanced offense, led by last season’s America East Rookie of the Year Alyssa Lang, who has 143 kills. Senior Ashley Oscars is right behind her with 142, and sophomore Iman Kennedy has tallied 137 kills and 57 blocks. Senior setter Kira Giles is a winner of the Setter of the Week award this year.

When Binghamton finishes with the Retrievers, the team will follow up with a match against Stony Brook University. The Seawolves, who have also beaten the Wildcats and Hawks to go 2-0 in conference play and are 10-8 overall, are currently riding an eight-match win streak. However, the Bearcats beat them in three sets in each of their two matches last season. Stony Brook will play the University at Albany tonight before heading to Binghamton on Sunday.

The Seawolves’ attack is led by America East Player of the Week Harmonie Calinda and her conference-leading 4.13 kills per set. Junior Ashley Headen has also won Player of the Week honors and leads the America East with a .347 hitting percentage. As a team, the Seawolves are the leaders in the conference in hitting percentage, digs and kills per set, and are second in service aces and assists.

Regardless of the opponent, conference games are must-wins for a team that was predicted to finish first in the America East. As a result, each one has a special intensity that fuels the players on both sides. Kiriyama feels that his squad is ready for the pressure of being the favorites.

“It’s pretty intense,” he said. “They know every match is big from here on out. They’re excited and they seem ready to play.”

The Bearcats are set to play UMBC tonight at 7 p.m. Binghamton and Stony Brook are scheduled to face off on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both matches will be in the West Gym.