The Binghamton volleyball team has now won 10 straight home games after handing the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, a loss on Sunday.

The Bearcats (9-14, 4-1 AE) captured their fourth conference win of the season in a 3-1 set, by the scores 30-27, 30-14, 17-30 and 30-27. The win did not come without a struggle, however; after returning 13 players from last year and acquiring six newcomers, the much-improved UMBC Retrievers (9-12, 2-3 AE) walked into the West Gym ready to show what they are made of.

In the first game, UMBC jumped out to an early 7-2 lead, forcing BU to play catch up for most of the game. Both teams exchanged amazing volleys, but in the end it was the Retrievers’ numerous service errors that helped BU grab a 30-27 win.

The Retrievers came out in the second game looking like they had just eaten at Chili’s and taken a five-hour nap. BU opened the match with four straight points and led UMBC by as many as 15 points. Frustrated, UMBC head coach Ian Blanchard played every girl on his bench in an attempt to silence the Bearcats, but to no avail; BU held UMBC to a .000 hitting percentage and easily took the game, 30-14.

“We started to get on a roll that second game, and hitters get hard to stop once they are hot,” said senior middle blocker Megan Hoag. “Our blocking was there and everything was working for us.”

The third game was a complete reversal from the second, in which the Bearcats were utterly dominated by the Retrievers. Poor blocking, passes and communication from the Bearcats led to an embarrassing 30-17 loss.

In the fourth game, UMBC once again jumped out to an early lead, using its momentum from the previous game to carry them. But the Bearcats were able to battle back from a six-point deficit and eventually took the lead at 23-22. UMBC, clearly frustrated by Binghamton’s incredible blocking, was unable to come back.

“The fourth game was a fight, tooth and nail,” Hoag said. “It shows that our team works hard, and even though we are down in games we believe we can come back, and expect to do so.”

Hoag posted her 12th double-double of the season with 15 kills and 14 digs. Setter Ashley Meffert contributed 47 assists and 13 digs, while middle blocker Jacki Kane controlled the net with 10 blocks.

UMBC’s star freshman, Ashley Oscars, paced her team with 18 kills in the loss.

BEARCATS LOST AT STONY BROOK FRIDAY: The Bearcats traveled to Long Island this past Friday, where their undefeated conference run was snapped by Stony Brook University (11-11, 4-1 AE). Stony Brook wanted to avenge its conference championship loss last year to the Bearcats, and did so by the scores 30-26, 23-30, 32-30 and 30-15.

The Bearcats hung in with the Seawolves for the first three games, but completely unraveled in the final game after dropping a close game 30-32.

“Volleyball is a game in momentum,” Hoag said. “You lose a game 32-30 and the momentum shifts and it’s hard to get it back.”

Stony Brook’s Morgan Sweany picked apart BU’s defense with 25 kills. Kane had 15 kills and a .333 clip for Binghamton in the loss.

The Bearcats are now ranked second in the conference behind the Seawolves. Both teams hold a 4-1 conference record, but Stony Brook has a better overall record, as they outperformed BU in the non-conference schedule.

This week Binghamton has three home matches against Maine, Hartford and Colgate, and the team is looking to maintain its 10-game home winning streak.