Coming off its first conference win of the season against Providence College last weekend, the Binghamton University volleyball team will look to maintain its stride this weekend as it faces off against University of New Hampshire today and University of Hartford on Sunday.
The Bearcats (8-12, 1-3 AE), sitting at fifth in the conference, will face a challenge in the UNH Wildcats (5-15, 4-0 AE) who currently stand second in the conference. Although the Bearcats topped New Hampshire twice last year, head coach Glenn Kiriyama said this year it is a different ball game, so the Bearcats’ approach must be different.
“We are expecting a really tough match,” Kiriyama said.
Dropping 14 straight games during the regular season, the Wildcats had the worst non-conference record in the America East. The Wildcats have since stepped it up a notch, though, and currently stand undefeated in conference play. They are riding a four-game winning streak and coming off a 3-1 win against University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Kiriyama said that honing the basics of the game will assist the Bearcats in achieving their second conference win and improve their rank in the America East Conference standings. To win against the Wildcats, BU must continue to improve their hitting and blocking.
“They are getting better,” Kiriyama said. “And are still working on serving, offense, defense and passing a little better.”
Regarding the upcoming match against UNH, Kiriyama suggested the team must go in and play to its potential as it did against Providence.
After the game today, the Bearcats are scheduled to head to Hartford (10-11, 1-3 AE) to take on the Hawks on Sunday.
The Hawks currently sit in fourth in the America East. Following back-to-back losses to UNH and Providence in open conference play, Hartford beat UMBC in five sets for its first AE win before falling to Stony Brook University two days later.
Last season, the Bearcats won both matches against Hartford.
Binghamton is scheduled to take on the Wildcats at 7 p.m. tonight in New Hampshire before traveling to Connecticut to face the Hawks at 2 p.m. on Sunday.