The Binghamton University volleyball team bounced back from a tough performance at the Yale Classic to post victories over both Siena College and Quinnipac University this week.
The Bearcats (8-8) topped Siena 3-0 on Wednesday in the team’s first home match since Sept. 12. With the win, the Bearcats remain unbeaten at home in four matches and have only dropped one set at the West Gym.
“It was a good game, we came out with a lot of intensity,” Bearcats head coach Glenn Kiriyama said.
BU junior Anna Lejina led the team with 15 kills while classmate Michelle McDonough added 14 kills and 7 digs.
The Bearcats started out strong by taking the first set. The closest the Saints were in the opening set was a 10-9 BU lead, but the Bearcats ran off with the set, taking it 25-19.
BU’s intensity continued throughout the second set as the Bearcats were in total control of the game. Despite holding only 13 kills to the Saints’ 12, Binghamton played a strong defensive game that gave them a decisive set lead of 24-15. The Saints rallied to take the next five points before the Bearcats took the set 25-20.
“Our middles have to get a little bit more involved in the offense,” said Kiriyama. “There’s still a lot to work on.”
The final set was a different story than the rest of the match. The Bearcats trailed for the first time in the third set, and the closest of sets saw the lead switch from one team to the other. Saints senior Burgandy McCurty had 21 kills on the match and was key for Siena’s late-match push.
“She is a good player, we knew she was going to be their main hitter so we were sort of focused on her,” Kiriyama said. “[It’s] hard to stop a good player; we are glad to win this [one] in three.”
Junior setter Lindsey Mueller had 36 assists while classmate Sandra DeVito had seven kills. Freshman Alex Roland, who was named the America East Rookie of the Week on Monday, hit .286 with three kills.
BU participated in the Yale Classic last weekend, dropping matches to Central Connecticut State University and Yale University on Saturday. The Bearcats lost a close match to Central Connecticut to open the tournament; BU lost the fifth set 15-12.
Lejina posted a season-high 23 kills and fellow junior Michelle McDonough added a career-high 22 kills. Mueller handed out 60 assists.
Binghamton lost in straight sets to Yale, the defending Ivy League champions, to close out the day. The Bulldogs held Binghamton to just a .009 hitting percentage.
McDonough paced Binghamton with nine kills, while Lejina added seven. Mueller had 17 assists and 13 digs in the finale.
The Bearcats finished out the tournament with a 3-1 victory over Quinnipiac on Sunday. McDonough again tied her career-high in kills with 22 to lead BU, along with 14 digs.
“We played pretty well, especially towards the end of the match,” Kiriyama said, according to a Binghamton University press release. “Michelle had a nice all-around game and (as a team) we did a lot of good digging and blocking.”
Defensively, the Bearcats held the Bobcats to 13 kills over the final two games and prevented Quinnipiac from getting a single service ace.
Lejina added 19 kills and eight digs for Binghamton. Senior libero Brianna Strong chipped in 12 digs and Mueller tallied 46 assists.
McDonough and Mueller were named to the All-Tournament team.
The Bearcats are scheduled to open America East play against the University of New Hampshire today at 7 p.m.
— Dan Boruchowitz contributed to this report.