Predictions in sports are never a sure thing, but the Binghamton University volleyball team took the first step in proving the predictions of the coaches of the America East right: The coaches’ preseason favorite to win the AE took their first match of the conference season, beating the University of New Hampshire 3-1.
The Bearcats (9-8, 1-0 AE) are riding a three-game winning streak, which immediately followed a three-game stretch of losses. They are currently one of four 1-0 teams in the conference.
New Hampshire (8-11, 0-2 AE) came into the match having won all four games of their road trip. The Wildcats were also featuring senior Lindsay Fogarty as America East Player of the Week senior and Katie Uitti as America East Setter of the Week.
In the first set of its match against Binghamton, it appeared that New Hampshire’s momentum from the road had come home with them. The Wildcats took the set 25-20, as the Bearcats hit just .082 in the set.
Entering the second set, Binghamton showed why the coaches of the America East expected it to be the best team in the conference; BU responded by scoring the first six points of the second set. Unlike previous matches, Binghamton did not let up after going up early, and extended their lead to 13-3 before winning with a score of 25-10. While the teams posted similar numbers in terms of kills, the key to the set was errors. While BU played a relatively clean set with just two errors, UNH posted 10 and hit -.056.
“I was glad to see us come around and take charge of the second game after we lost the first,” said Bearcats head coach Glenn Kiriyama, according to a Binghamton University press release.
The third set featured a similar quick run to open the set for Binghamton, who scored nine of the first 11 to take the 9-2 lead. The Wildcats would cut into the lead, but the Bearcats would still go up 24-18. BU would allow UNH to score the next three, but held on to take it 25-21.
The fourth set showed that the Wildcats still had some fight left in them. The set featured many small runs by each team as they would exchange leads. New Hampshire would jump ahead first, building an 8-5 lead, before Binghamton scored 11 of the next 15 points to take their own 16-12 lead. They couldn’t hold on to their lead, allowing six straight points to go down 18-16. However, Binghamton was able to pull off one last run, which was just enough to finish off the match as they took the final set, 25-22.
“We made some key plays and played well at the end of the last couple games, especially game four,” Kiriyama said, according to the press release. “It was good to see us come through at the end.”
The Bearcats as a team posted 11 blocks, led by last week’s America East Rookie of the Week Alex Roland’s six block assists. Junior setter Lindsey Mueller put up 40 assists with 10 digs, while junior outside hitter Anna Lejina posted 16 kills and 10 digs.
It was junior co-captain Michelle McDonough who led the way, however, with 19 kills, 15 digs and three block assists. She was awarded America East Player of the Week honors for her efforts, her second such award in that year. This was also the sixth time a Bearcat received one of the weekly awards in the season’s six weeks.
Binghamton will get more than a week off between matches before continuing the conference play on Sunday at the University of Hartford (6-12, 0-2 AE). Since the 2004 season, the Hawks have won just one game in conference play, accumulating a 1-63 conference record in that time. The match is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Reich Family Pavillion.