The Binghamton University volleyball team could use a couple of wins this weekend after losing two straight matches to the University at Albany and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
The Bearcats (10-13, 5-3 America East) are scheduled to travel to Providence College today and the University of New Hampshire Sunday. The Bearcats are looking to improve their own level of play with only four games left in the conference season.
‘We’d like to do things at a higher level ‘ pass at a higher level, hit at a higher level,’ Binghamton head coach Glenn Kiriyama said. ‘We’re just trying to improve in all areas of the game right now.’
Providence College (10-20, 2-7 AE) is currently in last place in the conference and is on a three-game losing streak.
The Friars faced the University of Hartford and Stony Brook University last weekend. In the first match, Providence put on a tremendous performance, but lost in five sets. They won the first and third sets 25-20 and 25-23, respectively, but they could not pull it together in the end, dropping the extended fifth set 21-19.
Stony Brook proved to be an even tougher opponent, defeating Providence in three straight sets, 25-17, 25-18, 25-18. The Stony Brook Seawolves are currently in third place with a 5-4 AE record and are set to face second place UMBC this Sunday.
This is not the first meeting for the Bearcats and Providence, as Binghamton hosted the Friars back at the beginning of the conference season. The Bearcats won the match in four sets, 25-23, 25-11, 12-25, 25-23. However, the Friars’ hitting did pose a challenge then and will surely again this weekend.
‘Providence is a team we haven’t seen a whole lot,’ Kiriyama said. ‘They’ve got some hitters. We have got to do a better job at stopping their offense.’
Senior captain Michelle McDonough notched 22 kills from the outside, hitting a .304 percentage. Freshman libero Xiomara Ortiz picked up 15 digs while junior setter Julie Chambers assisted with 37 sets.
Providence will play its second match of this weekend against first-place Albany on Saturday.
The Bearcats will gear up and face New Hampshire on Sunday. New Hampshire sits in fourth place with a 4-5 conference record.
Last weekend, the New Hampshire Wildcats split their two matches. They lost their first match against Stony Brook in three straight sets. The Wildcats took on Hartford the following day. Despite losing the second set 18-25, they fought back and won the last two sets, 26-24, 25-19.
New Hampshire senior setter Sara Heldman won her third Setter of the Week honors. This past week she averaged 10.14 assists and 3.29 digs per set. Heldman is ranked third with 8.99 assists per set. Binghamton’s Chambers leads the conference with 9.79 assists per set. Heldman was New Hampshire’s libero last year, taking the America East Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors.
New Hampshire’s offense will be one of the bigger ordeals for the Bearcats this weekend.
‘New Hampshire’s a very physical team,’ Kiriyama said. ‘They have got an unconventional type of offense. It’s something we don’t see too often. That’s going to be challenging for us.’
Binghamton hosted New Hampshire back on Oct. 8. The Bearcats won the match in four sets, 25-15, 23-25, 25-18, 26-24. It was their first win of the season. After this win, the Bearcats went on a five-game winning streak.
McDonough contributed a grand total of 14 kills and eight digs. Fellow senior outside hitter Anna Lejina also had 14 kills with four service aces. Senior Sandra DeVito and sophomore Alex Roland each added eight kills. Binghamton outhit New Hampshire .248 to .174.
Chambers dished out 32 assists and picked up the defense with 10 digs. Ortiz also protected the back row with 14 digs.
Before facing Binghamton, New Hampshire will take on Albany tonight.
The Bearcats are coming off two straight losses; last week, they lost against UMBC in straight sets, 24-26, 17-25, 15-25, and are looking for redemption this weekend.
‘We’re coming down the stretch here,’ Kiriyama said. ‘We’re really focusing on our execution with what we are doing on our side of the court [in terms of] the offense and the defense.’
Tonight’s match against Providence College is scheduled to start at 7 p.m., while the match at University of New Hampshire is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday.