The Bearcats’ six-game winning streak came to a grinding halt Sunday, as Albany delivered a punishing blow.
The Binghamton University women’s volleyball team (14-10, 6-1 AE) lost their first conference match of the season to the Great Danes (20-3, 6-1 AE) in a three-game sweep, by scores of 19-30, 26-30, 15-30. Both teams are now tied for first place in the America East conference.
“Albany came in with a very good game plan,” said head coach Glenn Kiriyama. “They were focused on what they wanted to do.”
Albany entered the game ready to avenge their only conference loss and the Bearcats were unable to quell their momentum. Kiriyama thought the Great Danes came out with dominating serves and hits, and his team couldn’t handle the offensive attack.
“They served us very tough and they outhit us quite a bit,” Kiriyama said. “We had trouble controlling the ball on our side.”
Serve receiving played a tremendous role in the loss. The Bearcats committed 11 receiving errors and were rendered defenseless against serving runs by Albany’s defensive specialist, Eileen Nicole Rodriguez, who leads the conference in service points.
Junior outside hitter Katie Brody led the Bearcats with 16 kills and nine digs. Sophomore outside hitter Kathleen Schauer contributed with nine digs.
“Albany wanted the game more than we did,” said freshman libero Jaclyn Strader. “We came out a little too confident and didn’t connect.”
The Great Danes have now won 14 out of their last 15 matches and will pose a serious threat to Binghamton in the conference playoffs.
Before the loss to Albany, the Bearcats buried the University of Hartford (8-16, 0-7 AE) in a four game victory Friday at the Sports Center. BU won by scores of 30-20, 30-16, 27-30, 30-20.
The Bearcats took advantage of the 42 attack errors committed by the Hawks. Sophomore middle blocker Jacki Kane executed on all levels with 10 blocks, 14 kills and an outstanding .609 attack percentage. Strader scrambled all over the court for balls, producing 11 digs.
Important Note:
Albany holds the tie breaker over BU for winning four out of the seven games the teams played this season. Realistically, the Bearcats have to finish the year 5-0 for a chance to host the conference tournament. The Great Danes defeated their next five opponents in previous matchups this season by a combined score of 15-1, but they had trouble with Maine, edging past them 30-28, 30-27, 30-26.