The Binghamton University volleyball team took its winning streak on the road this weekend and continued to impress offensively, extending its win streak to four games with a pair of wins. The Bearcats swept the University of Hartford 3-0 and knocked off Stony Brook University in an impressive comeback fashion, taking the match 3-2.
The Bearcats (9-11, 4-1 America East) opened their weekend on the road at Hartford, where they continued their trend of dominating the Hawks (6-16, 1-4 AE), sweeping them in three straight sets and extending the BU winning streak to three.
In the first set, the Bearcats trailed only briefly, falling behind early 4-1 before going on a nine-point run that would give them a 10-4 lead. BU would not trail for the remainder of the set. Back-to-back kills by senior captain Michelle McDonough started the run, which came in the form of six Hartford attack errors and three kills by McDonough. McDonough and fellow senior outside hitter Anna Lejina each had five kills in the set. The Bearcats would lead for the rest of the set before an ace from senior outside hitter Sandra Devito sealed the win, 25-13, BU’s widest victory of the night.
In the second set, the Bearcats continued to dominate. BU took the lead off an opening kill from Devito and did not surrender it for the rest of the set. After an ace by senior Mercedes Montford gave BU a 7-1 lead, Hartford called a timeout, but the Bearcats could not be slowed. This time it was sophomore middle blocker Alex Roland who led the team with five kills, while McDonough followed close behind, adding four more to her total on the night. A service error by Hartford junior Michelle Cordell gave BU the 25-16 win. McDonough, Devito and Montford each posted aces for the Bearcats, totaling four in the set, which proved to be BU’s best offensive performance of the night. It posted a hitting percentage of .393.
The Bearcats faced their toughest challenge in the third set of the match, as Hartford put on an impressive offensive performance that had been absent in their preceding play. BU fell behind early, trailing 8-3 before a Bearcat timeout. McDonough and Lejina responded with consecutive kills to pull the Bearcats within three, but a bad set by Lejina ended the streak and the Hawks’ lead remained intact. Then, with the Bearcats trailing 16-13, a block by junior setter Julie Chambers and Roland that ended in a Hartford attack error ignited the BU offense. Consecutive kills by Lejina and Roland tied the game at 16. Neither team was able to take a substantial lead, with Hartford pulling ahead only briefly before BU evened it once again. Back-to-back kills by Lejina and Devito gave BU a real chance for the win, with the score 26-25, but with two consecutive Hartford kills, the Hawks reclaimed the lead. The Hawks would pull ahead one final time, 28-27, once again shy of the win by a single point, before McDonough exploded with three straight kills to finally secure the victory for the Bearcats as they took the set 30-28 and the match 3-0.
The night proved to be a big one for BU outside hitters, who combined for 36 kills in the match and helped the Bearcats finish with a .314 hitting percentage. McDonough ended the match with a game-high 16 kills and 11 digs, awarding her with her seventh double-double of the year. Lejina finished close behind with 15 kills, while Devito posted five of her own, along with two service aces.
‘We rely on them a lot,’ said head coach Glenn Kiriyama of his outside hitters. ‘I think they bring a lot of other qualities besides their hitting to the team ‘ their leadership and just their steady play throughout the matches.’
Junior setter Julie Chambers, who leads the America East conference in assists, picked up 15 in the third set for a game-high 37 on the night. Roland and freshman Xiomara Ortiz held down the defense for the Bearcats. Aside from her seven kills, Roland also posted a match-high five blocks, while Ortiz held the record in the game with 14 digs.
On Sunday, BU traveled to Stony Brook University, aware of the greater challenge it would face. Earlier in the month, the Seawolves swept UMBC, the team that handed BU its only conference loss.
‘[The team] knew coming into this match today that they had to play a little bit better if they wanted to come out victorious,’ Kiriyama said.
The Seawolves proved that they would be a challenge almost immediately, going up two sets to none on the Bearcats, needing only one more set for the victory. The first set of the match would prove to be one of the tightest, though the Seawolves held the edge for the majority of it. A kill by McDonough followed by a Stony Brook attack error would give BU a rare lead in the set and an opportunity to take the first game, with the Bearcats up 23-22. But the Seawolves answered with three straight kills to take the 25-23 victory.
Stony Brook dominated for most of the second set, posting five aces, three coming from junior Masa Balandzic, and never falling behind the struggling Bearcats. With a 25-14 Stony Brook win, BU found itself down two games to none, each of the remaining three sets now must-wins.
The score remained close in the opening of the third set and the Bearcats soon found themselves trailing by a point with the score 11-10. A kill by Lejina set the Bearcat offense on a five-point run, pushing BU ahead 15-11, a lead that the Seawolves would be unable to overcome. A block by Chambers and Roland followed by two Stony Brook miscues would solidify the Bearcats’ first win of the night, 25-18, and mark the beginning of a hard-fought BU comeback.
The Bearcats took their newfound momentum into the fourth set, where they grabbed their largest win of the night, laying down Stony Brook 25-16. The score remained close throughout the set’s opening before the Bearcats were finally able to break away on an impressive six-point streak, sparked once again by a timely Lejina kill. Another block by Chambers and Roland, the second for each in the set, would end in a Stony Brook attack error that gave BU the win.
The fifth set opened with the match on the line and the Bearcats fighting to extend both their comeback run and their season winning streak. BU fell behind early, trailing the Seawolves 8-2, meaning Stony Brook needed only seven more points for the win under the special circumstances of the fifth set. Then, for the third time that night, Lejina came up with a key play that would turn the Bearcats’ play around. A Lejina block stopped short a Stony Brook run at three, and brought the Bearcats within five. The Bearcats slowly began to chip away at Stony Brook’s lead. Despite BU’s efforts, though, the Seawolves soon found themselves up 14-11, one point shy of a win that would give them the match. BU continued to battle, answering with three consecutive points to tie the game at 14. A kill by Stony Brook junior Alicia Nelson gave the Seawolves a 15-14 lead, once again leaving the Seawolves in need of a single point to hand the Bearcats a loss and put an end to their streak. But Lejina came up huge one final time, putting down three straight kills to win it for the Bearcats, 17-15, and push their winning streak to four matches.
Lejina was named America East Player of the Week for her performances in the two weekend matches.
‘She’s an impressive hitter,’ Kiriyama said of Lejina, who ended the night with 20 kills. ‘She can take over a match at certain times and we do rely on her quite a bit [and] she responds. She did a great job this weekend and really carried us toward the end of this match tonight.’
McDonough ended the night with 15 kills and 11 digs, earning her second-straight double-double.
‘This was definitely a big win today and I think with each win the confidence level goes up and [the team starts] believing a little bit more in themselves and the possibilities that lie ahead for them,’ Kiriyama said.
The Bearcats will look to extend their winning streak this weekend as they are set to square off in a home-and-home series against the University at Albany. Friday’s match is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Albany, and the second match is set for 5 p.m. on Sunday at the West Gym.