The BU volleyball team wants to end the regular season just as they began it, with a three-game sweep of the UMBC Retrievers.
The Bearcats (17-11, 9-2 AE) will wrap up a sensational season of conference play against the sixth place UMBC Retrievers (10-17, 3-7 AE) at the West Gym on Sunday at 1 p.m. The girls will provide the BU Zoo with one last show before moving onto tournament play at Albany.
Both teams are trying to end the regular season on a high note. Binghamton suffered a 3-1 loss to the Maine Black Bears last weekend, and UMBC has been plagued by six straight losses.
The Retrievers can not be overlooked, however. Even though BU swept UMBC during the first encounter, the Bearcats won by slim margins as the Retrievers battled through all three matches.
“It was a really close match last time,” said head coach Glenn Kiriyama. “We are not looking past UMBC.”
UMBC’s Sarah Ball ranks third in the conference in kills per game and points per game, and could challenge the Bearcats on Sunday. Ball amassed 16 kills when the teams first met, but it wasn’t enough to slow down the Bearcats, who were led by junior outside hitter Katie Brody’s 19 kills and junior setter Ashley Meffert’s 49 assists.
“This is our last home match and we want to go out with a win,” Kiriyama said. “Hopefully our girls will be up for it.”
Note: The Bearcats could clinch the second seed with a win on Sunday. If Binghamton loses, and Maine beats Albany and Stony Brook this weekend, the Bearcats would drop to third place. Either way, the Bearcats would square off against the Black Bears in the first round of the America East playoffs.