The Binghamton University women’s volleyball team couldn’t have asked for a better start in their quest to make the America East Tournament, rolling over conference foes Stony Brook University and the University of Hartford at home over the weekend.
The Bearcats (7-9) are now 2-0 in conference play, an important step for a team that, though it has performed well in years past during this time of year, is relatively young and new to the environment. Conference wins not only help teams get into the America East Tournament, but they can also build confidence for later matches against conference opponents.
“We’ve been looking forward to the start of conference all season long, and that’s what we’ve been gearing up for,” said Binghamton head coach Glenn Kiriyama. “It’s definitely a confidence booster to start off 2-0. We know that these games are all important to our ultimate goal of advancing to the conference tournament and competing well there.”
It started on Friday night against Stony Brook (9-10, 0-1). Last year the Seawolves beat the Bearcats three times, including in the semifinals of the America East Tournament. BU made sure that this year would not be a repeat.
Stony Brook held its own for most of the first set, tying the match at 15. However, Binghamton stormed back again, taking the set 25-19 on the strength of a .324 hitting percentage and 17 kills. In the second set, the Seawolves went ahead 8-4, but yet again Binghamton was able to pull ahead, holding on for a 25-22 win.
The Bearcats went into the third set hoping for a sweep of their opponents. The match was tight to begin with, as Stony Brook went ahead 11-9. However, Binghamton once again rallied to get in front and put away the Seawolves, 25-17. While some may see the win as redemption for last year, Kiriyama doesn’t see it that way. He simply credited it as a “nice win.”
The Bearcats carried that momentum into their home game Sunday afternoon against the Hartford Hawks (5-13, 0-1). At the end of the match, the Hawks were another team to start conference play with a loss to the Bearcats. Binghamton won the first set handily, 25-9. The Hawks hit at a very poor -.360 clip, as compared to BU’s .316. The next two sets were closer, but the Bearcats still came out on top, winning 25-18 each time.
The match was all about Binghamton’s blockers harassing the Hawks, keeping their offense at bay. BU tallied 18 team blocks to Hartford’s one, led by junior Dawn Lammert’s 12. The Bearcats’ defense also forced 36 errors in the match.
“I know our blocking was pretty dominant during the match. Their hitters had a hard time hitting around our block,” Kiriyama said.
While he noted that the team could still improve its serve receives and hit at a better percentage, he’s also happy with the way his team is coming together.
“I know we’re going to continue to work on that [meshing and developing] and I know they are developing into a pretty cohesive unit here. Hopefully we can keep developing and keep improving throughout the rest of the conference.”
The Bearcats hope to continue their success against America East conference opponents Friday night at 7 p.m. when they play the Maine Black Bears (7-9, 0-2) in the West Gym. Despite their mediocre record, Kiriyama warned about the experience of Maine’s veteran squad. BU finishes its home stand with a game against another conference opponent, New Hampshire (3-15, 0-2), on Saturday at 4 p.m.