The Binghamton University women’s volleyball team bounced back from a harsh start to its year with two successful weekends in September. Despite losing two of three matches last weekend, they pulled out a pair of wins this weekend.
The Bearcats (4-6) secured their first win of the season on Friday, Sept. 3 against Jacksonville at the Sacred Heart Invitational. After losing the first set, the team stepped up to take the match in three consecutive tight sets.
Senior team captain Michelle McDonough, an outside hitter, sparked the offense with 17 kills and added to the defense with eight digs and three blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Alex Roland posted a team-high of six blocks while freshman Xiomara Ortiz was able to fill the vacant libero position, picking up the back row with 17 digs.
‘[The defense is] still a work in progress. We’ve got our freshman libero right now and she’s improving as we go along and she’s doing a pretty good job,’ said head coach Glenn Kiriyama.
Although BU got off to a good start, it was unable to defeat Dartmouth or host Sacred Heart Pioneers in the final two matches of the Invitational.
Senior outside hitter Anna Lejina’s 21 kills were not enough to unnerve Dartmouth, as the Bearcats lost 3-1. McDonough contributed 16 kills and 16 digs, but Binghamton still came up short as Dartmouth closed the fourth set easily, 25-15.
The Bearcats were unable to come back from the loss, losing the second match 3-0. Lejina posted a team-high nine kills and Ortiz picked up 12 digs.
First-year starting setter, junior Julie Chambers, collected a total of 103 assists in the three matches. Her transition to setter has been a successful one, as evidenced by the fact that Chambers was named the America East Setter of the Week for each of the last two weeks. She posted 9.36 assists per set the first week, and upped that to 11.14 assists per set in the second week. With an average of 10 assists per set for the year, she is currently first in the conference.
BU added another win to its record with a highly contested match Wednesday night against defending MAAC Champion, Niagara. The Bearcats took the fifth set by a mere two points to win the match 3-2.
Binghamton started off the match winning the first two sets 28-26 and 25-18 before dropping the next two sets to the Purple Eagles. The fifth set was finished in comeback fashion, as Binghamton scored four straight points after trailing 13-11, to win the match.
The offense was a major factor in Binghamton’s win as it outhit Niagara .259 to .194, posting its highest hit percentage of the season. McDonough notched a team-high 22 kills with Lejina just behind with 21 kills.
‘She’s [McDonough] been our leader on and off the court. She sort of gives them confidence when she’s playing well and especially when she is consistent,’ Kiriyama said. ‘When she plays well, we sort of get the heat off of that. She’s been able to lead by example and also by what she says and what she does.’
Playing well for the defense were Ortiz and senior outside hitter Sandra DeVito. DeVito recorded a team-high 18 digs while Ortiz picked up 17 digs.
The Bearcats played at the UB Blue and White Classic this weekend and got off to a slow start, losing to host Buffalo three sets to none.
Lejina contributed a team-high 10 kills while Ortiz cleaned up the back row with 18 digs. However, Buffalo hit .452 in the last set, stifling Binghamton 25-11. Poor offense led to the Bearcats’ lowest hit percentage of the season at .082.
The Bearcats bounced back from Friday’s loss to win both matches on the second day.
In the first match of Saturday’s doubleheader, Lejina’s 16 kills led the Bearcats to a much-needed win over St. John’s. Chambers contributed to the attack with 36 assists. This win snapped St. John’s nine-game winning streak.
The offense was on fire as the Bearcats won in three straight sets against Hampton. McDonough led the team with 21 kills, hitting at a .645 percentage, while Lejina contributed 12 kills.
The Bearcats posted a season-high nine aces in this last match of the weekend.
The team will travel to Washington, D.C. for the Georgetown Classic and is scheduled to play the Hoyas Friday at 5 p.m. They are set to continue on the following day with a doubleheader against Furman University at 11 a.m. and East Carolina University at 4:30 p.m.