Perhaps one of the Bearcats had broken a mirror in the locker room before a game or head coach Glenn Kiriyama had walked underneath a ladder on his way to practice. Whatever it was, the Binghamton University volleyball team has to do something to reverse its current eight-game losing streak starting tonight as the New Hampshire Wildcats stalk their way down to Binghamton to challenge the team in its first America East Conference game of the season at 7 p.m. The game will be followed by another home conference match against Maine on Sunday at 10 a.m.
The game against the Wildcats will be the second home game of the season for the volleyball squad. The Bearcats currently hold an impressive record of 14 straight conference home victories that date all the way back to the season of 2004.
With a phenomenal record of 11-4, the Wildcats will prove a tough opponent to beat for BU. University of New Hampshire ranks first in the AE standings for kills per game and second in assists. With its latest victory over Dartmouth, the team holds a current five-game streak. The Wildcats as a team posted a total of 65 kills against the Big Green marking their second highest kill total in the 2007 campaign. They first place UMBC by only one game in the AE standings.
The Bearcats (6-12) are having it rough this season with eight consecutive losses since their first home game against Syracuse.
‘It’s hard to say how we will perform,’ said Kiriyama. ‘Right now we are sort of taking it one game at a time. We really want to just put in a good effort and be a little bit more consistent in our play.’
The coach hopes that for this game, the upperclassmen will be able to step up on the court and lead the team. Junior Jaclyn Strader is second in the AE in most kills in a game and sophomore Dawn Lammert and senior Jacki Kane rank No. 1 and 2 in blocks. BU leads the Wildcats in the number of blocks and digs per game, and has the advantage of playing the game around a huge support of Bearcat fans.
‘We are just looking forward to playing,’ stated Kiriyama when asked about how he felt about the conference opener. ‘It is nice to be playing at home for a change.’
If the Bearcats want to ensure a good game today, they will have to watch out for the Wildcat heavy-hitters. Senior Emmy Blouin, the America East leader in points, averages about 4.6 per game. In her last game she placed a total of 15 kills over Dartmouth. Also on the roster is America East dig leader sophomore Alyse Lahti, hitting an average of about 5.1 each game.
The Bearcats hope to seal victory during Sunday’s second home conference match against Maine. The Black Bears, with only two wins in 14 matches under their belt this season, are last in the AE standings. In its last game, Maine swept University of New Brunswick, a Canadian school, in an exhibition match.
The game against UNH and Maine marks the first and second of 12 America East Conference matches. They will then again head out on the road to face off against Colgate the following Tuesday. Kiriyama and his volleyball squad are hoping for a great turnout this weekend, and hope that the Bearcats will come and support the team.