The Binghamton University volleyball team will head into today’s game against UMBC seeking a type of two-fold redemption.
Last Sunday, the Bearcats had their five-game winning streak snapped by the University at Albany, who defeated BU 3-2 in five hard-fought sets to hand BU only its second conference loss of the season. Its only other loss came earlier in the year against the Retrievers, leading to an unexpectedly rocky start to the Bearcats’ conference season as the Retrievers knocked off BU 3-1 in its opening match of conference play. Now, nearly a month later, the Bearcats will step onto the court seeking revenge.
Friday’s match looms large for both teams. With BU’s loss to Albany on Sunday, identical conference records have the two teams locked in a tie atop the America East standings. UMBC sits just a half-game back, equal in number of losses but one shy in number of wins. With a win on Friday, UMBC would pull ahead of BU in the standings, with only a handful of matches left to play.
‘We know it’s a very important match for us and we’re looking to get a little revenge on them,’ said Binghamton head coach Glenn Kiriyama. ‘They handled us pretty well at their place. We’re hoping that we can do the same to them this time around.’
Despite BU’s 13-5 record against UMBC since 2002, the Retrievers present possibly one of the greatest challenges left in the Bearcats’ remaining regular season schedule. The Retrievers are riding a three-game winning streak in conference play, though coming off a 3-0 non-conference loss at home to American University on Oct. 20. The Retrievers were picked to finish third by the coaches in the America East preseason poll, where they received one first-place vote.
When the two teams met earlier on Oct. 3, the BU offense seemed as if it had yet to take off, posting just a .145 hitting percentage over four sets. UMBC’s own hitting percentage of .265 ultimately led them to a 3-1 victory over BU. But certain things are different this time around. Since the team’s opening loss against UMBC, the BU offense has caught fire. Led by senior outside hitters Michelle McDonough and Anna Lejina, the Bearcats have outhit their opponents .230 to .175 over their last six matches and rank third in the conference with a .187 hitting percentage overall. Even so, BU is set to face a challenge in the solid defensive team that is UMBC. Three UMBC players ‘ junior Iman Kennedy and freshmen Emily Witsaman and Emily Vandergrift ‘ rank among the top 10 in the conference in blocks per set, while freshman Hallie Carter and senior Sabrina Hoeks hold fourth and 10th place, respectively, in digs per set. When the teams faced each other earlier in the year, UMBC outblocked the Bearcats 10-3 while posting a match-high 67 digs.
‘They’ve got some good hitters and ‘ they play really good defense behind their blocks,’ Kiriyama said of the Retrievers. ‘They’re a tough team to score points on.’
BU has its own defense to boast about, as well. This past Monday, freshman libero Xiomara Ortiz received the America East Rookie of the Week award for her fine defensive performance over the weekend. In what proved to be her two best matches of the year, Ortiz picked up 57 digs in the series against Albany. In last Friday’s game, Ortiz raked up the most digs by an America East player in three sets since 2005. She ranks second in the league in digs per set with an average of 4.19.
Junior Julie Chambers picked up an honor of her own Monday, as she was named the America East Setter of the Week for the third time this year. Chambers leads the America East in assists per set with an average of 9.79.
‘They’re very important pieces to our team and to our success,’ Kiriyama said of Ortiz and Chambers. ‘It’s good to see them improve throughout the season and receive these awards.’
The Retrievers were handed their two conference losses earlier in the season by Albany and Stony Brook, falling in three straight sets in both matches. BU has topped both teams this season, knocking off Stony Brook 3-2 on the road on Oct. 17 and splitting a home-and-home series against Albany this past weekend. They swept the Great Danes 3-0 in the first match before falling to them 3-2 two days later.
BU is scheduled to take on UMBC tonight at 6 p.m. in the West Gym.