After losing eight matches in a row earlier in the season, the Binghamton University volleyball team knew they needed to turn things around when conference play started. They did just that, reeling off three wins in a row, but then they fell to Stony Brook on Sunday and it looked like BU could be back on another skid. With Cornell, who has beat BU the past 11 times, coming into town, the Bearcats knew the out-of-conference match was going to be extremely important.
‘We knew we needed to turn it around and change momentum,’ said senior Jacki Kane. ‘It’s never good to end on a loss, so we knew we had to come out blazing and show people what we can do.’
BU came out and conquered.
The Bearcats dominated Cornell 3-0 (30-13, 30-16 and 30-26) in the West Gym on Tuesday, out-hitting the Ivy League team .301 to .025 while committing only 10 errors compared to the Big Red’s 30. BU (11-13, 3-1 AE) controlled every aspect of the game, including holding a 15-3 advantage in blocks.
‘I thought our team did a lot of good things out there,’ said BU head coach Glenn Kiriyama. ‘I thought our blocking was again a key factor. Their hitters had a hard time hitting around our fronts and that caused them to make quite a few errors.’
Binghamton’s victory, their first over Cornell since moving to Division I, was a team effort led by Kane and a group of underclassmen. Freshman Michelle McDonough had a team-high 10 kills, seven digs and three blocks, while freshman Lindsey Mueller added a match-high 33 assists to go along with 10 digs. Sophomore Dawn Lammert chipped in with six kills and a match-high nine blocks.
‘I am really happy that they are playing as well as they are,’ Kane said of her three teammates. ‘All three of them have stepped up in huge ways and are really talented players and bring a lot to our team.’
Kane herself added nine kills without committing an error in 21 attempts for a match-high attack percentage of .429. But Kane knows that the reason they won so dominantly was because of the team effort, and if they continue their winning ways, it’s going to be because everyone is stepping up.
‘Everyone did their job and in volleyball, everyone needs to be working hard in order to win,’ Kane said.
This is going to be especially crucial for the Bearcats next match, as they face off against AE foe Albany on Monday at 7 p.m. at the West Gym.
‘Everybody is working so hard at practice,’ Kane said. ‘We know they will roll over us if we don’t bring our A game.’
The Bearcats split the season series with Albany last season, winning 3-0 at home and losing by the same score on the road. But it’s been the Great Danes who have won the conference the past three years in a row.
‘They have always been a really physical team with really strong hitters,’ Kane said. ‘They have a lot of young players this year, but it’s really easy for a big hard hit to really put down your confidence, so we need to play our game.’
Something that could help that confidence, besides their play, could be the home court advantage of the West Gym, where the Bearcats have won 17 of their last 18 matches and will look to exploit that with the help of their fans.
‘It’s so nice to hear them cheer you on and pick you up when a point doesn’t go your way,’ Kane said. ‘I can’t even explain how much it can pick you up.’
BU and Albany sit in a first place tie with UMBC at the top of the conference, all with 3-1 records. Albany and UMBC will face off this afternoon at UMBC, so depending on that outcome, the Bearcats could be facing an angry, expired, or tired and emotionally drained Great Danes team.
No matter what happens in the other conference matchup, the Bearcats are focused on their own and know they have to show up and perform at the highest level on Monday night if they want to win.