The season has come down to the wire for the Binghamton University volleyball team. After sweeping University of Hartford (25-18, 25-18, 25-16) on Friday to set up a Sunday battle for first place with University at Albany, the Great Danes spoiled senior day for the Bearcats with a four-set victory (20-25, 27-25, 23-25, 20-25).
Locked in a four-team tie for second place, Binghamton (10-17, 7-4 America East) now needs to beat Stony Brook University in Sunday’s regular season finale to guarantee the Bearcats a spot in the four-team America East tournament, pending the results of other conference games.
In Friday’s game against the Hawks (8-18, 2-8 America East), the Bearcats fell behind 0-4 early in the first set before taking control. A pair of kills from sophomore outside hitter Kristin Hovie pushed the Bearcats into a 12-12, and a subsequent 7-2 Binghamton run gave the Bearcats a lead they didn’t relinquish. They took the first set 25-18 and the second set by the exact same score.
The Hawks battled to stay alive in the third set, jumping out to an early 6-4 lead, but Binghamton quickly pushed ahead. Up 14-12, the Bearcats recorded three straight kills to cushion their lead. The Hawks proved unable to climb back from the deficit as the Bearcats took the set, 25-16, and the match, 3-0.
Hovie racked up 13 terminations that night, while junior middle hitter Grace Vickers and senior middle blocker Alex Roland combined for 14 kills and 4 blocks. BU hit at .350 compared to Hartford’s .147 hitting percentage.
“Friday night against Hartford, we played well,” Binghamton head coach Glenn Kiriyama said. “We blocked well, hit well and played some good defense. It was great to see a good team effort.”
Despite the end result, Sunday’s game against first-place Albany (11-14, 8-2 America East) proved to be a tight battle.
After dropping the first set, Binghamton used a 12-3 run to climb back from an eight-point deficit and capture a slim 22-21. The Great Danes regained the advantage and threatened to take the set, but the Bearcats fought off set point twice before embarking on a 3-0 run that sealed the victory. Binghamton registered a .500 hitting percentage in the frame and notched 23 kills, seven of which came from senior outside hitter Iva Partaleva, who recorded a match-high 20 kills on the night.
After leading 21-20 in the third set, Binghamton was downed by a 4-1 Albany run and never saw the lead in the fourth in final set. Albany took the match, 3-1.
Sophomore Amanda Dettmann totaled 55 assists and 10 digs en route to recording her fourth consecutive double-double.
“It was a tough match, but the outcome was just not there,” junior libero Xiomara Ortiz said.
Sunday’s match marked the final regular season home game for the team’s three seniors: Roland, Partaleva and defensive specialist Jordyn Suhr.
“We’re going to miss our seniors so much,” Ortiz said. “They were an amazing part of the team and impacted us greatly.”
The Bearcats are set to take on Stony Brook this Sunday on the road in their final regular season conference game. Binghamton topped the Seawolves 3-2 at home when the teams first met on Oct. 12. BU and Stony Brook are currently tied for second place in the conference, alongside University of Maryland, Baltimore County and University of New Hampshire, all remaining in the race for a playoff berth.
”I think that the team is ready for the next game,” Partaleva said. “We had a good game against Stony Brook here, so it’s going to be even harder there. We have seven days to prepare, so we are ready to practice hard and play.”
The match at Stony Brook is set to begin at noon on Sunday at Pritchard Gym.