Down two sets, the Binghamton volleyball team stood two points behind Stony Brook at 22-20. After giving up a point on their serve, the Bearcats were unable to halt the Seawolves’ offense, conceding three consecutive points and completing the 3-0 Stony Brook sweep.

“[Stony Brook] is a very well-coached team,” said Binghamton head coach Glenn Kiryama. “They’re very disciplined and we knew that coming in. We knew they were going to be a tough opponent and they didn’t disappoint in that sense.”

BU (6-9, 2-1 America East [AE]) was undefeated in its two conference matchups prior to facing Stony Brook (7-9, 1-1 AE). In the last stand of the shortened spring 2021 season, Binghamton was swept by the Seawolves at home in a similar fashion before responding with a 3-0 victory of its own to break its long-standing losing streak.

“I don’t think we had as many opportunities hitting-wise as Stony Brook did, so we’re short on that area,” Kiriyama said.

The first set kicked off with Stony Brook firing on all cylinders. After the Seawolves earned their third point, they maintained their lead throughout the set, not allowing any room for a BU comeback. Although Binghamton managed to shrink the deficit to within two points, Stony Brook quickly expanded their lead, squandering the short-lived Bearcat rally and winning the set 25-19.

Binghamton struggled more in the second set than the first. Stony Brook immediately opened play with an 11-3 run to jump into the lead. Once again, the Bearcats clawed back some points in hope of a comeback, but couldn’t make up the ground on the Seawolves, who went on to win the set 25-16.

The final set was BU’s most competitive. For the first time of the night, Binghamton earned itself a lead over the Seawolves. Despite BU dragging its leading score out midway into the set, Stony Brook never fell out of contention. The Seawolves eventually tied the score 12-12 and began to build greater momentum over their conference rivals. The Bearcats’ original lead turned into an uphill battle to win the set, and the home side faltered in the final points of the match.

Kiriyama said that BU’s greatest weakness was the team’s ball control.

“The ball control on our side was not very good tonight,” Kiriyama said. “The ball control and any ball coming over we had trouble controlling, whether it was digging or getting free balls … It put us in a difficult situation on offense while [Stony Brook’s] side was able to control it much better and put our blockers in difficulty.”

In spite of Binghamton’s inability to contest with the Stony Brook frontline, it still delivered on its own offensive front. Sophomore outside hitter Stefana Stan was an integral part of the BU side, delivering 12 kills to Stony Brook to keep her team in the game.

“[Stan] was pretty aggressive,” Kiriyama said. “They didn’t serve her a lot since they were picking on some of the others, but she had a pretty good game.”

In addition to Stan, junior middle hitter Anna Sprys earned eight kills and freshman outside hitter Annie Bart added another seven. Senior setter Kiara Adams also set up 28 of BU’s 33 assists. The Bearcats did not record a single ace as Stony Brook tallied five of their own.

Binghamton is slated to play one more home matchup before taking on UMBC and going another round against Stony Brook in consecutive away matches.

“It was a tough match — it’s always tough to lose at home,” Kiriyama said. “Hopefully it’s somewhat of a wake-up call for us and we’ll come back and work even harder and play even better next time.”

The home contest against Hartford is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 10. First serve is set for 1 p.m. at the West Gym in Vestal, New York.