Coming off its first win in conference play against Albany, the Binghamton volleyball team went 1-1 over the weekend, falling to UMBC in a sweep on Friday night but bouncing back and earning a 3-1 victory over Bryant on Sunday afternoon.

“Friday night was definitely disappointing,” said Binghamton head coach Allie Yaeger. “I’m really glad that we could bounce back the way we did today.”

To start the weekend against the reigning America East champions in UMBC (4-10, 3-0 AE) on Friday, Binghamton (12-6, 2-1 AE) was unable to build momentum, falling in three sets against the Retrievers — 25-20, 25-21 and 25-21. Despite all three sets being relatively close, the Bearcats could not find a way to pull away late.

“We didn’t show up,” Yaeger said. “It wasn’t our day. We can’t do that anymore, especially with conference matches. It’s really disappointing — our performance on Friday night. What’s really disappointing with it is that we didn’t play well at all, and we were still kind of in it, and in every single set.”

Fifth-year outside hitter Tsvetelina Ilieva led the way on offense for the Bearcats, recording 18 kills, but the Bearcats were held to just a .115 hitting percentage as a team. UMBC also beat Binghamton in kills, digs and assists to earn the victory on their home court.

“I think that maybe we underestimated UMBC because they didn’t have a great preseason,” Yaeger said. “UMBC executed really well. They played flawless against us. Everything went their way, and they played really well, and we just didn’t step up to the occasion. So yeah, it is a huge rivalry. I’m sick of losing in that gym.”

To close out the weekend on Sunday, Binghamton got back in the win column with a 3-1 win over Bryant (14-5, 1-1 AE). After winning the first set in overtime fashion 33-31, the Bearcats struggled mightily in set two, falling 25-8. However, BU got back on track in sets three and four winning 27-25 and 25-17 to win the match overall.

“That’s a good Bryant team and I could not be happier with that win,” Yaeger said. “Today’s win was a must-win, in my opinion. I continue to say that I want to go undefeated at home in conference this year. So far, we are in conference play, and we’ve got to keep it that way.”

Despite being held to a -.261 hitting percentage in set two, the Bearcats’ strong performance in every other set allowed the team to maintain a .254 hitting percentage. With three Bearcats tallying double-digit kills, Ilieva spearheaded the offense again, tallying 21 kills. Sophomore outside hitter Ella Schabort and sophomore middle blocker Misa Dlouha each added 10 kills as well.

“Minus the second set that we played, which we kind of didn’t show up for, I thought the girls fought really hard to come back after that second set and kind of clear their minds and start from scratch in that third set,” Yaeger said. “I was really proud of what they were able to pull off today.”

Yaeger also talked about the high level of talent in the AE this year, and what it will take for the Bearcats to have a successful conference season and make a deep postseason run. One major aspect she mentioned was her team’s level of intensity.

“There’s so many good teams in this conference this year, and the levels of intensity that other teams play at is something that we need to do a better job at,” Yaeger said. “We’re really good at a lot of things. We’ve got to stay consistent with everything.”

Before resuming conference play, Binghamton will hit the road for a midweek matchup against Temple on Wednesday, Oct. 9. First serve is set for noon at McGonigle Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.