The travel along the East Coast had its ups and downs for the Binghamton University volleyball team this weekend.

The Bearcats (10-12, 5-1 AE) ended their five-match winning streak after losing to Albany, 0-3, on Friday. On Sunday, Binghamton went down to Maryland to play UMBC and defeated them, 3-1.

Albany (13-8, 5-0) had a good hold on Binghamton from the start, its offense penetrating through the Bearcats defense. In the first set, Binghamton had a total of six errors and nine kills, whereas Albany tallied two errors and 17 kills. A .455 hitting percentage gave the Great Danes the win, 25-16.

“We couldn’t stop their offense,” said BU head coach Glenn Kiriyama, according to a Binghamton University press release. “They hit at will against us, hitting over .400.”

In the second set, both teams stayed neck and neck. Sophomore Michelle McDonough served three straight points to give the Bearcats the lead, 12-10, but the Great Danes answered back, going on a 10-1 tear to blow open the game 20-13 thanks to Albany sophomores Brooke Stanley and Amanda Cowdrey. The Bearcats attempted to close the gap, but got no further than five points away as the Danes claimed the set, 25-18.

The Bearcats took the lead early in the last set, but attack errors caused the Danes to take a 14-11 lead. Binghamton managed to tighten the gap later on to 19-20 with the help of sophomore Anna Lejina, before the Danes gave a 5-1 run to close the game and the match, 25-20.

Senior Kamisha Kellam and Cowdrey both tallied 10 and 15 double-digit kills, respectively, while Lejina had the Bearcats’ highest 12 kills. The Bearcats had an overall .135 hitting percentage and 32 kills, while the Danes completed the match with a .414 hitting percentage and 53 kills.

It seemed as if the Bearcats were going to let the result of Friday’s match repeat again on Sunday as UMBC (15-7, 4-1) claimed the first set, 26-24.

“It was a tight match and we fought well in Games 3 and 4 to pull those out,” Kiriyama said. “We stayed aggressive and didn’t let up, which was good to see. We scrapped well on defense, too. This keeps us in the hunt for first place.”

Something seemed to have clicked in place afterward because in the second set, the Bearcats stayed up on the offense to extend their lead to eight points twice. The Retrievers, however, were not going to give up easily. With the Bearcats in the lead, 10-17, UMBC tried to close the gap, going on a 5-1 run. Attack errors once again took a toll on the Bearcats, allowing UMBC to tie the game, 21-21. A four-point run, with the help of a kill apiece by junior Dawn Lammert and Lejina and two service aces by senior libero Jaclyn Strader, gave Binghamton the win, 25-21.

UMBC chased the Bearcats for much of the third set, tying the score six times. Binghamton, however, took a 12-11 lead and kept ahead of the Retrievers, winning the game 25-23. Both teams stayed head-to-head in the fourth and final set, tying 11 times. A 24-24 score extended the match. An attack error from UMBC ended the set and claimed the match, 27-25, for the Bearcats.

“We played like a young team,” said Retrievers head coach Ian Blanchard, according to a UMBC press release. “One of the things that makes Binghamton such a hard team to beat is they minimize their mistakes, and we didn’t do that today.”

Three Bearcats posted double-digits, with McDonough at the front on a career and game high of 21 kills. Senior Ashley Allen came in with 14, while Lejina tallied 11. As in their last game, the Bearcats suffered on errors mounting up to 27 kills, however the team stood up on the offense with a total of 53 kills.

The Bearcats take a break from the America East games to challenge Cornell next Tuesday at 7 p.m.