The Binghamton volleyball team hosted the Bearcat Classic over the weekend, posting a 1-2 record in its season opening tournament. After sweeping Merrimack in its opening matchup, BU was then swept by Toledo and Bucknell.

“It was a very disappointing weekend for us,” said Binghamton head coach Allie Yaeger. “I was very disappointed in how we played because I know we can play better. I watch them play every single day at practice, and it looks good, and they’re so talented, and they’re so smart and they’re so physical, and a lot of them come with a lot of experience.”

In its season opening match against Merrimack (0-3), the Bearcats (1-2) came out firing on all cylinders, keeping their momentum to cruise to a 3-0 sweep — 25-16, 25-14 and 25-23. Contributions from a mix of newcomers and experienced Bearcats contributed to the winning effort. As a team, BU maintained a strong defensive presence, holding Merrimack to a 0.081 hitting percentage while having a 0.329 hitting percentage of its own.

“We have a lot of returners, but we do have a lot of new faces and new talent on this squad,” Yaeger said. “So that’s what these first four weeks are all about — just figuring out what’s the best product that we’re going to put out on the floor come conference play.”

The second match of the tournament was a different story as Binghamton was swept by Toledo (3-0) in three sets — 25-18, 25-12 and 25-22. BU was held to just a 0.158 hitting percentage while Toledo managed to hit 0.353. The Bearcats struggled to get in front throughout the match, playing from behind all the way through.

“We’ve got to figure out a way to put it all together,” Yaeger said. “We have a lot of really, really talented players this year, and it’s just ‘how quick are we going to figure it out and put it together?’”

In its final match of the weekend, the Bearcats struggled once again, suffering another 3-0 sweep against Bucknell (2-1) — 25-21, 25-16 and 25-14. The first set would prove to be the most competitive of the three as Binghamton got within one at 20-19. However, the Bison pulled away with a 5-2 run to take the set. BU’s own mistakes ended up costing them throughout the match, with 18 attack errors and 10 service errors.

“We can’t win matches if we can’t put the ball on the floor,” Yaeger said. “Between our hitting errors, which was 18, and our serving errors, which was 10, that’s 28 points that we gave the other team.”

In her first tournament as a Bearcat, junior libero Emily Cronkhite earned all-tournament honors. Cronkhite tallied 27 digs over the three games. With a significant amount of newcomers, the focus for the Bearcats this preseason will be to figure out lineups and combinations. With strong hitters, the team will rotate between running a 5-1 or 6-2 offense.

“[Cronkhite was the] ​​most consistent player on the floor for us all weekend,” Yaeger said. “Her service, even her ball control overall, is very, very good. Getting her up to the speed of our conference and the speed to be able to play defense is going to be the one thing that she needs to keep working on.”

Binghamton will hit the road to take on Villanova on Wednesday, Sept. 4. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at Jake Nevin Field House in Villanova, Pennsylvania.