After a rocky start to the season, the Binghamton volleyball team will try to right the ship this weekend when it heads to St. John’s to compete in the John Kaiser Volleyball Classic. At the College of Charleston Invitational last weekend, the Bearcats (0-3) lost their first three matches of the season, dropping nine out of the 10 sets.
Although they ended in losses, many of the sets were more competitive than the final score showed. In the season opener against UT Martin, junior setter Sarah Ngo recorded 36 assists and was one of the reasons Binghamton pushed the match to four sets. The Bearcats were shut out in three sets of each of their two ensuing matches against South Carolina and the College of Charleston.
The Bearcats have their work cut out for them this weekend when they face undefeated La Salle in their first matchup. The Explorers (5-0) have dropped only one set all year, securing each victory in a dominant fashion.
“We’re really trying to focus on our side of the net, trying to get better in a lot of areas,” BU head coach Glenn Kiriyama said. “We just want to be competitive this weekend.”
La Salle is a young squad with seven freshmen, including its assist leader, freshman setter Kathryn Wood, and its kill leader, freshman outside hitter Devin Corah. Binghamton is an evenly spread team with six underclassmen and eight upperclassmen.
“It’s a good mixture,” Kiriyama said. “We’re hoping [the upperclassmen] continue to improve as well. I think having those upperclassmen improves team chemistry all around.”
The next matchup of the weekend is set to be a competitive one, with the Bearcats facing Niagara on Saturday at noon. Despite losing nine of their first 10 sets played, the Purple Eagles (1-3) managed to secure a dominant win in their fourth match of the season against Cal State Fullerton.
Senior libero Bailey Walker, who missed last season due to an injury, is a player to look out for as Binghamton’s senior leadership will be key in helping them break out of an early slump.
“She’s done a nice job getting back into the swing of things, both in her defense and in her leadership out on the court,” Kiriyama said.
Kiriyama also expects sophomore outside hitter Erin Shultz to make an impact after a productive offseason.
“[Shultz] is in good shape, and we’re looking for her to contribute a little bit more on the outside this year,” he said.
The Bearcats are set to face St. John’s (3-0) in their final matchup of the weekend. Undefeated in their first three games, St. John’s has yet to lose a set. BU must be able to level the floor on the defensive end in order to put pressure on an otherwise dominant Red Storm team.
Binghamton is scheduled to begin action against LaSalle on Friday. First serve is set for 4 p.m. at Carnesecca Arena in Jamaica, New York.