As the packed crowd in the West Gym began to chant “Start the Bus” last Friday night, the reality that the Bearcats were going to sweep Albany began to set in.

The Binghamton volleyball team (6-14, 1-0 AE) was out to prove itself against its conference rivals and came out on top with a 3-0 sweep on Friday night at the West Gym. The Bearcats upset the Great Danes (8-8, 1-1 AE) by scores of 30-24, 30-28 and 30-24.

“It feels so amazing to beat Albany,” said sophomore libero Jaclyn Strader. “There was so much energy here tonight. It feels so great to start conference play this way.”

The Bearcats had to dig deep and fight hard for every win. The riveting second set alone included eight lead changes, making it as much of a nail-biter for those in the packed bleachers as it was for the players on the court. The matches were so intense that Albany head coach Kelly Sheffield could not even maintain his composure; he received a yellow card during the second set, showing how frustrating it was for the conference favorites to swallow defeat in front of the electric Binghamton crowd.

Binghamton’s remarkable play was highlighted by senior outside hitter Katie Robertson, who contributed 14 kills, 13 digs and a match-high .393 attack percentage. Senior setter Ashley Meffert anchored the front line with 41 assists and senior captain Megan Hoag hit a milestone 1,000th dig, making her the 11th player in Binghamton volleyball history to reach the mark.

The defensive line of Strader and sophomore defensive specialist Katherine Courage excelled during the game, equaling Albany’s notoriously good defense. With utter disregard for themselves, those two girls threw their bodies across the court to combine for 13 and nine digs respectively.

Albany senior Shelby Goldman played well in the Great Dane loss, leading her team with 11 kills and eight digs. Senior Blair Buchanan added 33 assists and 10 digs.

“To beat them in three straight sets, that’s really something,” said head coach Glenn Kiriyama. “They are a talented team. It’s been a while since they were swept in conference play.”

Albany has not been swept in conference play since 2003, showing why they were ranked number one in the America East in the coaches’ preseason poll. The Bearcats, however, proved that as the defending champions, the conference still belongs to them.

“If we play as hard as we can, we have no limits,” said junior middle hitter Jacki Kane, whose five blocks gave her 347 in her career with Binghamton, tying her for ninth on the Bearcats’ all-time list. “We went all out there today and it showed. All of our preparations helped us come out on top.”

Unfortunately, BU was not able to carry its momentum into Syracuse on Tuesday night, as the team was swept by the Orange (6-16) by the scores of 30-27, 30-20 and 31-29.

Syracuse outperformed the Bearcats in nearly all aspects of the court, racking up higher numbers of digs, blocks and kills and a higher hitting percentage. Junior Kathleen Schauer, with 12 kills, was the only Bearcat to produce in the double digits.

BU hopes to continue its early success in conference play with a road game against Hartford this Friday. Binghamton will then return home to take on the University of New Hampshire Sunday at 1 p.m in the West Gym.