Over the weekend, the Binghamton volleyball team hosted Maryland Eastern Shore, Boston College and Siena for the Bearcat Classic. The Bearcats won their first game in five sets against UMES, lost the second in three sets to BC and closed out with a 3-0 victory over Siena.

“It’s always best to be home and to have opening weekend here to play on our home court,” said Binghamton head coach Allie Yaeger. “Super happy with the weekend.”

In its first matchup of the season, BU (2-1) took on the Hawks (1-2) in a five-set thriller. After taking set one 25-13, the Bearcats went on to drop the next two by scores of 25-22 and 25-20, respectively. In set four, Binghamton and UMES went back and forth, trading points until both teams were knotted at 20 apiece. The Bearcats proceeded to rally three kills in a row to help close out the set 25-22. BU went on to win the fifth set 15-7 to secure its first win of the season.

“They believe in a lot of things,” Yaeger said. “They believed in it, and they trusted each other, and they had nothing to lose.”

On Saturday, the Bearcats faced BC (3-0) for the first time in nine years. Binghamton lost the first set 25-20, then went on to lose the next two sets 25-18 and 25-17, respectively. Despite the 3-0 defeat, BU tallied 29 digs as freshman libero Madison Konopka led the team with nine.

“Our serve receive did get a little better,” Yaeger said. “We’re still trying to figure out who’s hot [and] who’s not … But we still distributed really well, and we just had to be smart and consistent.”

Game three saw the Bearcats compete against Siena (0-3) for the last contest of the tournament. Binghamton swept the Saints in three sets to close out the weekend with its second win. Siena came out attacking, taking a 7-5 lead in the first set. However, BU went on a 9-0 run to take a 14-7 advantage that they did not relinquish for the remainder of the set. The Bearcats ended the first set with a 25-16 victory and closed out the next two sets 25-20 and 25-21, respectively.

“Siena had great energy from the start,” Yaeger said. “We had to match that energy or we would be in trouble, so that was something we were really pushing toward.”

Junior outside hitter Tsvetelina Ilieva led the Bearcats in kills for the weekend, accumulating 35 across all three matches. Additionally, her impact was felt on the defensive side as she tallied 19 digs and seven blocks. Freshman outside hitter Giulia Bonifacio also had an impact on the offensive end with 28 kills of her own during the tournament.

“[Ilieva] brings a level of experience that I feel like this gym hasn’t seen before,” Yaeger said. “She played at a high level her whole life … Coming here she automatically makes everyone better in this gym, but I have to give credit back to the Binghamton players because they make her more confident on the floor.”

This season Binghamton will look a bit different than in previous years. First-year head coach Allie Yaeger expressed her excitement for the year and building a championship culture. Furthermore, there are six freshmen joining the team along and recent transfer Ilieva.

“It’s exciting,” Yaeger said. “A lot of people on the floor are new. We got a lot of freshmen, we got transfers … It’s terrifying, but it’s more exciting … We’re trying to build a championship culture here and the girls believe in it. That’s all I can ask for.”

BU will return to action over the weekend starting on Friday, Sept. 2 to compete in the Central Connecticut State Tournament. First serve is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Detrick Gymnasium in New Britain, Connecticut.