The Binghamton volleyball team got its season underway last weekend at the College of Charleston Invitational. However, the tournament did not go the Bearcats’ way as they dropped all three of their matches.
“We’ve got a lot of things to improve on,” BU head coach Glenn Kiriyama said. “We’re just trying to improve in really every area.”
BU (0-3) first played against University of Tennessee at Martin on Friday. After dropping the first two sets by a close margin, the Bearcats fought back to win the third set, 25-21. BU came back in the set from a 21-17 deficit but rallied to score eight straight points. Although Binghamton came out on top in the third set, the Skyhawks (1-1) proved too much to overcome as they took the fourth set and the match.
Despite the late rally, Kiriyama was not satisfied with his team’s first game performance.
“We didn’t have a really good first game,” he said.
The Bearcats looked for improvement on Saturday as they got set for a doubleheader. They first took on South Carolina, who blitzed BU from the beginning by opening up with a 25-13 first-set win. The rest of the match was much tighter, but the result was the same. The Gamecocks won a tightly contested second set, 28-26, before finishing BU off with a 25-20 third-set win to clinch the match.
Binghamton’s final contest was a matchup against the tournament hosts, the College of Charleston.
The match began the same way as the previous one against the Gamecocks had, and BU was handily defeated in the first set, 25-13. Following the rough start, the Bearcats tried to bounce back but failed to find a way to finish off sets. Leading, 23-22, in the second set, BU faltered, dropping the set, 26-24. The Cougars took the match with a 25-19 third set victory.
“[Saturday] we played much better and with much more intensity,” Kiriyama said. “It’s hard to say why the first game in all our matches have been on the weak side, so we’re going to try and address that as best we can.”
BU committed 69 errors including 28 against the Gamecocks, who committed just six. Kiriyama wants his team to recognize the importance of cutting down on its errors.
“It’s very important … [cutting down on errors] is one of the things we need to work on,” he said. “It gives the other team free points and we can’t afford to do that.”
Although the Bearcats went winless in Charleston, junior setter Sarah Ngo had an impressive performance. She led the Bearcats in assists last year and started this season right where she left off, tallying 87 assists and 23 digs in three games.
“She is very consistent and very upbeat, and she’s just a positive influence to everyone on the team,” Kiriyama said. “Being the setter is like being the quarterback of the team, so she’s important.”
Also contributing was senior libero Bailey Walker, who led the Bearcats with 51 digs, for an average of 5.1 digs per set. On the end of most of Ngo’s assists was sophomore outside hitter Erin Shultz, who recorded 24 kills in her nine sets played.
Kiriyama was not discouraged by his team’s performance in Charleston and hopes Binghamton will continue to grow as the season moves forward.
“A lot of [our performance has to do with] our experience and playing together,” Kiriyama said. “We’ve got a lot of new players in the lineup and it takes a bit of time.”
The Bearcats are set to travel to Jamaica, New York next Friday to play in the Jack Kaiser Volleyball Classic at St. John’s University. Their first match against La Salle is scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m. in Carnesecca Arena.