Albany will be out for blood tonight.

Last year, the favored but overconfident Great Danes stood on the sidelines of the West Gym mocking the home team Bearcats. Albany soon learned that nobody walks into the West Gym with an attitude like that and leaves with a win; Binghamton’s 3-1 upset set the tone for the rest of the season in which the Bearcats would go on to be America East champions.

There will be a lot on the line for both Albany (7-7) and Binghamton (5-12) tonight. Each team will be looking to prove their place in the conference. After a disappointing season in which Albany finished third, the Great Danes want to prove that they are still the team to beat and the class of the conference. They have reason to believe they still are, as they were ranked first in the preseason conference rankings. Binghamton was ranked second and is looking to carry the momentum from last season in their pursuit of this year’s championship.

“We’re really excited for Friday,” said junior middle hitter Jacki Kane. “If we play as hard as we can, there are no limits.”

The two teams split their matches last year, each winning on its home floor, so it’s quite possible that either team can walk away with the victory.

“Every person on our team wants to beat them because we know they want to kill us,” said sophomore Ashley Allen. “It’s doable. We’ve done it before but we’re going to have to work hard for it.”

The Bearcats will be trying to bounce back from a disappointing preseason in which they posted a measly .290 winning percentage. Albany also did not have the success they expected during non-conference play; the Great Danes have won only half their matches so far this year.

Both teams have lost key players from last season. The Bearcats said a somber goodbye to their leading outside hitter, Katie Brody, who left the team for personal reasons. Albany’s top three hitters from 2005 graduated, and today’s match will determine which team took the bigger hit and which can better bounce back from its losses. This is a game that will help set the tone for the rest of the season.

“Beating Albany last year was the turning point of our season,” said senior setter Ashley Meffert. “It was surreal, and we kept on going from there.”

Look for Meffert to anchor the team tonight with her sets, while hitters Megan Hoag and Kathleen Schauer have been leading the team with kills and will look to produce this weekend. Albany senior hitters Shelby Goldman and Ashley DeNeal will try to carry their team to victory from the front row.

“I’m both nervous and excited to play because we’re both vying for the top spot in the conference,” Kane said. “Everybody’s ready to go out there and show what we’ve been working so hard for.”

The Pipe Dream staff strongly suggests that everyone attend tonight’s match at 7 p.m. in the West Gym. Let’s help our Bearcats kick off what should be a great season against a bitter conference foe.