Binghamton volleyball opened the season last weekend with four straight losses, including three in the opening Bearcat Classic tournament. Despite the losses, the team’s roster was highlighted by performances from players like senior outside hitter Merima Smajlovic and freshman middle blocker Hannah Olmstead, who was named to the Bearcat Classic All-Tournament Team.

“We’re really young, and we have a brand new team this year,” said Binghamton head coach Allie Yaeger. “We’re experimenting right now and we’re just trying to see what sticks. We’re throwing a lot of stuff on the wall and seeing what sticks and what doesn’t stick.”

The Bearcats (0-4) opened their season Friday, playing their first match against Fordham (3-0) and losing 3-2 in a close game. After dropping the first set 25-14, Binghamton started off the second set slow, trailing 23-19, until a second-half comeback saw the team score six straight points, ending with a 25-23 victory.

Falling 25-22 in the third set, the Bearcats eked out a 27-25 win in the fourth. However, they were unable to close the match, losing the final set at a score of 15-10.

“I mean, we fight,” Yaeger said about the team’s comeback victory in the second set. “If you saw us fresh this weekend in Friday and Saturday’s early games, we fight. We definitely are a team that fights a lot, and we have some good older leadership on the team.”

“But we have a lot of freshmen on the team too that need to learn the culture, and that is to fight, and that is to win,” she continued.

Game two was part of a doubleheader for the Bearcats on Saturday. In the first match, they faced the University of Connecticut (3-0), where they lost yet another close game 3-2.

Binghamton won its first set against the Huskies 25-23, before dropping the next two at 25-18 and 25-11. The team once again forced a fourth set with another 25-23 win, only to lose in the final set 15-9.

Game three was played later that day against Lehigh (2-1), wrapping up the Bearcat Classic tournament. Despite dropping all three sets, the Bearcats managed to keep things close, particularly in the third and final set, extending the frame and losing 26-24.

Despite Binghamton’s losses in the tournament, Olmstead was named to the Bearcat Classic All-Tournament Team after recording 20 kills, 10 block assists and three digs over three games.

“I thought [Olmstead] did a great job stepping up to the plate and really coming through for us in the middle of this weekend, and that goes for a lot of our freshmen,” Yaeger said.

To close out the weekend, Binghamton played an additional game on Sunday against Hofstra (1-0), hoping to take home a win after three straight losses. However, the Bearcats failed to win a single set, losing 3-0 and ending the weekend with another defeat.

Leading the squad in kills for the final three matches of the weekend was Smajlovic, who totaled 51 kills and 48 digs over the opening weekend. She led the team in kills in three of its four games, including in Sunday’s loss against Hofstra.

“[Smajlovic] right now is one of our go-to players,” Yaeger commented. “She’s great in six rotations, her defense makes such a difference for us in the back row and even her attacking at times in the back row is huge. She plays a huge role for us. I think she’s such a great leader, too, for our younger players to look up to her and see what kind of player they want to become from her.”

Binghamton will continue its season at the Black Knight Invitational, taking on Rider this Friday, Sept. 5. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Gillis Field House in West Point, New York.