The Binghamton volleyball team dropped its match against Hartford on Saturday afternoon, losing three of four sets played for a final score of 3-1. The Bearcats jumped out to an early lead winning the first set of the match, but it was not enough as the Hawks would win three-straight.

In the first set, BU (6-10, 2-2 America East [AE]) came out hot with a 9-3 start and continued to maintain a favorable lead with a 15-7 score later in the set. However, the Hawks (3-14, 1-3 AE) managed to close the gap later in the set, going on a 7-2 run to make the game competitive. Down two at match point, Hartford was able to tie the set up at 24-24 before consecutive kills by sophomore outside hitter Stefana Stan and junior middle hitter Anna Sprys gave BU the set.

“They have some good hitters, we knew coming in that they were going to be tough,” said Binghamton head coach Glenn Kiriyama. “[junior outside hitter Maddie Lindsay] is the same hitter we’ve faced the last couple years and she’s been really good against us, and [freshman outside hitter Camryn Luginbuhl] had a nice game for them, their outside hitters were tough against us. They hit pretty aggressively and we had a hard time controlling their hits.”

The Hawks nearly mirrored the Bearcats’ first set performance, with a quick 9-2 lead. Senior setter Kiara Adams led Binghamton back into the game, assisting all four points they scored in a row to get within five points at 15-10. BU reduced the margin late in the set, 22-20, before Hartford scored three points in a row to even the set tally. The Bearcats struggled with errors nearly doubling Hartford, 9-5, and committed three-straight errors at two different times during the set. Adams registered a career-high 24 digs throughout the afternoon, also adding 35 assists.

The third set was a back-and-forth affair as neither team led by more than a single point through the middle of the set. Hartford led 10-8 and did not lead by more than a point until it began to pull away, scoring three service aces in a row to get ahead 23-19. Senior middle blocker Tyra Wilson added a kill to make it close, but Hartford scored two of the next three serves to win 25-21, taking a 2-1 set lead. Wilson contributed seven more kills throughout the match. Binghamton’s attacks were not enough throughout the third set, often ending in errors and allowing Hartford to maintain an edge.

“We had a lot of unforced errors on our side, I think we struggled in all facets of the game today, from passing to setting, hitting, blocking,” Kiriyama said. “It wasn’t quite clicking tonight and I didn’t really see a strong point in any point of our game tonight; it was just one of those days.”

The final game was another back-and-forth one for much of the set, despite the Bearcats’ errors. The teams were tied 12-12 before four straight errors by the Bearcats. That was enough for the Hawks as they took the fourth and final set 25-16. Hartford’s front line of blockers was a constant stalwart for the Binghamton hitters, emphasized by Binghamton’s single-digit kills at six.

“There were times that we got some key blocks there, a few times where we served pretty aggressively, but overall our ball control was just not there and that’s just going to hurt us for our offense and defense and it was tough out there,” Kiriyama said.

BU is scheduled to take on UMBC on Friday, Oct. 15. First serve is set for 7 p.m. in at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.