Back-to-back road victories last weekend for the Binghamton University volleyball team saw the rejuvenation of a previously sweltering-hot Bearcat offense that had recently been quieted by a pair of losses. The redeeming victories awarded BU sole possession of second place in the America East Conference standings. With the standings tight and the final two regular season matches waiting to be played, the Bearcats enter a crucial final weekend of regular season play as they prepare to take on Stony Brook University and University of Hartford at home.
Though both matches loom large, the Bearcats’ first match of the weekend against Stony Brook undoubtedly poses the greater challenge. When the two teams last met on Oct. 17 at Stony Brook, the Bearcats battled back from a 2-0 deficit, taking the last three sets to pull away with the win in what Binghamton head coach Glenn Kiriyama called an ‘amazing comeback.’
‘Hopefully we’ll compete a little bit better than we did at the beginning of the last match and come out a lot stronger,’ Kiriyama said. ‘It was a really close match ‘ the last time and we want to make sure we play a little bit better this time around.’
BU’s comeback was fueled by an offense that has recently gotten back on track after having come up short against the University at Albany and UMBC. In the Bearcats’ win over the Seawolves, senior outside hitter Anna Lejina posted 20 kills, while junior Julie Chambers ‘ who won her fourth Setter of the Week award this week ‘ boasted a match-high 47 assists. Senior outside hitter Michelle McDonough, who leads the conference in average kills per set with 3.94, will surely play a large role, along with Lejina and Chambers, in the Bearcats’ quest for victory.
Stony Brook comes into the weekend’s match riding a three-game win streak and tied with UMBC for third place. Possessing just a single loss more on their record than BU, a win in tonight’s match could put the Seawolves in a tie for second place with the Bearcats, with a sole game remaining to be played for each.
On Sunday afternoon, in their final match of the regular season, the Bearcats are set to take on what should be a slightly less demanding opponent in sixth-place Hartford University. BU swept the Hawks in three straight sets when the team traveled to Hartford earlier in the season on Oct. 15. Hartford has yet to win a game on the road this season and is coming off back-to-back losses at the hands of Providence College and the University of New Hampshire.
Despite all this, however, the Hawks are not completely lacking as a real threat to the Bearcats. In one of the season’s biggest upsets, Hartford defeated first-place Albany 3-2 on Oct. 17, handing the Great Danes their first of only two losses thus far this season. The Hawks also knocked off Stony Brook 3-1 in another upset on Oct. 24.
With the standings as tight as they are, much remains to be determined by this final weekend of play. Kiriyama commented on the significance both matches hold for BU.
‘It is very important, this weekend, these two matches,’ Kiriyama said. ‘We’re fighting for position and there is an outside chance we could still come in first.’
A single match in the loss column separates second-place Binghamton from first-place Albany. Interestingly enough, Albany’s remaining schedule is a mirror image of BU’s as the Great Danes are set to face Hartford tonight and Stony Brook on Sunday. A loss to either presents BU with a chance to tie with Albany for first, while two Albany defeats would give the Bearcats the chance at sole ownership of a first-place finish. Tied for third and trailing with just one extra loss, Stony Brook and UMBC add pressure from behind, as a Bearcat loss would threaten to drop them in the standings. Two losses for Binghamton could potentially mean missing the playoffs. As a result, in an overall impressive season that has been marked by both ups and downs, much of BU’s fate falls to this weekend in the final two regular season matches of the year.
The Bearcats are set to face off against Stony Brook at 7 p.m. tonight and against Hartford at 2 p.m. on Sunday, both in the West Gym.