In the words of LL Cool J: ‘Mama said knock you out.’ The Bearcats bounced back last weekend, ending their eight-game slump with a pair of victories against their America East counterparts, New Hampshire and Maine. The wins place Binghamton University first among UMBC and Albany in the America East conference, and continue its 16 home conference game win streak.

‘What can I say?’ coach Glenn Kiriyama said. ‘Those were [really] big wins for us. I think it gives our team a lot of confidence going into the conference.’

‘Everyone played well,’ added sophomore Bearcat Dawn Lammert. ‘It was [the victory] we were looking for.’

BU kicked off their conference schedule on Friday night with a thrilling 3-2 victory over New Hampshire (22-30, 30-26, 30-27, 24-30, 15-13).

After splitting the first two games, the match came down to a decisive fifth set. The nerve-wracking finale featured tie scores at 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13, but a controversial call at 13-13 went the Bearcats’ way.

BU’s Michelle McDonough went up for a kill at the near side of the net, facing up against a pair of Wildcat blockers. After McDonough’s strike ‘ which would go in the books as her 12th kill ‘ the ball deflected off the out-of-bounds pole, landing out of bounds on Binghamton’s side of the net.

Referee Jung Park immediately signaled Binghamton point, inciting thunderous cheers from the hundreds in attendance and the six Bearcats on the court. As the UNH players and coaching staff complained, they never seemed to get their heads back in the game.

And when Ashley Allen hit a safe serve to the back left corner on the ensuing point, Wildcat Sara Heldman bumped the ball straight into the air ‘ as the other five UNH players froze. The ball fell innocently to the ground, providing a weirdly anticlimactic finish to a thrilling fifth game ‘ and giving Binghamton its first win in three weeks.

Maine got served Sunday morning as the Bearcats defeated the team 3-1.

‘We knew that this was going to be a tough one,’ Kiriyama said. ‘They played us pretty well, but we came strong and stayed in the game.’

The Black Bears would take the lead twice in the first game before the Bearcats secured the 30-25 win with a plethora of impressive blocks and kills.

Game two was a close one as it presented a total of 10 tie scores and seven lead changes; however, the Black Bears would edge out in the end with a 30-28 victory.

In games three and four the Bearcats roared back with a total of 17 kills apiece. The squad was a brick wall to the Black Bears who could not seem to overcome the phenomenal blocking Binghamton was using against them. For the Bearcats, the fourth game was their match best ending it with only three errors. The fabulous playing earned Kiriyama’s squad a 30-23 win in game three and a 30-22 win in game four.

Senior Kathleen Schauer had the match high 15 kills for the Bearcats, while senior Jacki Kane, freshman Lindsey Mueller and Dawn Lammert were the incredible blocking force for the team.

All in all, the squad is more than elated at the past weekend’s performance.

‘I thought the intensity level was high for both matches,’ Kiriyama said. ‘They came with increased awareness in both games.’

‘Everyone is doing their job, [and] that [is] what we have to do,’ explained Bearcat Kane. ‘We need to stay disciplined and balanced.’

The Bearcats were also definitely excited to be playing back at home in the midst of their cheering fans.

‘I miss [them] so much,’ Kane said. ‘They always make me so pumped up.’

The Bearcats will be away playing Colgate tonight followed by two conference matches against Hartford and Stony Brook this weekend. BU will then be back home the following Tuesday to play against Cornell.