During Homecoming weekend, the Binghamton volleyball team started America East play with a 3-0 sweep against SUNY rival, the University at Albany, on Friday evening in front of its home crowd. The Bearcats’ offense overpowered the Great Danes, allowing the hosts to pull away quickly in all three sets to earn its first win in conference play.
“It was great,” said Binghamton head coach Allie Yaeger. “We were clean, we were sharp and we were smart. We executed really well. The girls did everything that was [in] the game plan that we planned out for Albany.”
Binghamton (10-5, 1-0 AE) went up 8-2 in the early going of set one with freshman right side hitter Viktoria Dimitrova adding three kills to spark the offense. However, midway through the set, a run from Albany (4-9, 0-1 AE) cut BU’s lead to two at 17-15. After this point, however, the Bearcats began to pull away, closing out the set on an 8-1 run, with a kill from sophomore middle blocker Misa Dlouha giving BU the 25-16 set one victory.
“I think [Dimitrova] is going to be such a great volleyball player for this program and for this league,” Yaeger said. “[Dimitrova is] just getting started. I think she’s finally just catching the hang of our offense and our blocking system. What [Dimitrova] is doing a really good job at is hitting different zones and hitting different angles.”
To begin set two, the Bearcats and Great Danes traded points with things knotted at 6-6. However, a 5-0 run propelled Binghamton to an 11-6 lead, forcing Albany to burn its first timeout of the set. Coming out of the timeout, BU maintained its momentum, with an 8-3 run, to extend its lead to 19-9. The rest of the set saw a flurry of kills from fifth-year outside hitter Tsvetelina Ilieva and Dimitrova, with Binghamton hitting .478 en route to a 25-12 set win.
“I think it helps that they’re excited to get conference play going,” Yaeger said. “It’s exciting to be home in front of our home crowd. The girls played really well tonight.”
Both teams briefly traded points in set three once again, with BU leading at 3-2. BU then went on a 7-0 run to take a commanding 10-2 lead. The Bearcats refused to relinquish their advantage, maintaining a 20-14 lead later in the frame. Binghamton continued its strong serve and pass game, piling on the points while keeping Albany at bay, winning set three 25-15 and the match overall.
“We have so many good hitters, and I say that all the time we got to be able to pass the ball and play defense,” Yaeger said. “Our blocking is there. We’re one of the best blocking teams in the country, which is very fun for us, but our defense behind the block, it just needs to get a little better, always.”
The offensive trio of Ilieva, sophomore outside hitter Ella Schabort and Dimitrova added 16, 10 and nine kills respectively. Yaeger attributed the offensive distribution to the strong passing, courtesy of junior setter/right side hitter Lottie Scully, who tallied a season-high 38 assists on the evening.
“[Scully] was able to distribute the ball to everybody because the passing was really good tonight,” Yaeger said. “We got to continue to be the best passing team in this league and stay in system, and that way [Scully] can set all the hitters as much as she wants to.”
Binghamton will resume conference play against the defending conference champions, UMBC, on Friday, Oct. 4, looking to avenge last year’s loss in the AE title game. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.