The Binghamton volleyball team swept first-place Albany this past Friday, defeating the Great Danes for the first time since 2014. Albany (12-7, 6-1 AE) suffered its first conference loss, shattering its 10-game win streak in the process.
“I thought we played at a very high level and were able to keep it up throughout the match against a tough opponent,” said BU head coach Glenn Kiriyama. “It’s important, especially in these tough matches, to start off quick and get a small lead to build on.”
BU (10-11, 4-3 AE) took an early 7-3 lead before Albany countered to tie the set at seven. The two teams traded points until five errors from the Bearcats allowed the Great Danes to surge ahead 18-14. Junior middle hitter Kristella Morina posted a block for Binghamton and senior middle hitter Bianca Anderson followed with a kill. Two clutch kills from freshman outside hitter Lauren Kornmann leveled the game at 19.
The two squads exchanged points until the game was deadlocked at 23. An Albany error gave BU a set point before a kill from Kornmann clinched the set for Binghamton, 25-23.
“Lauren [Kornmann] had a nice game as our outside hitter,” Kiriyama said. “They didn’t have an answer for her.”
Four straight assists from junior Sarah Ngo once again set the stage for the Bearcats, lifting them to an early 7-3 lead. The Bearcats contained Albany’s offense, refusing to allow the Great Danes within three points. Sophomore outside hitter Erin Shultz contributed four more kills for BU while Kornmann added three kills to help propel the Bearcats to a 25-20 set win.
“We handled the ball well; we passed well and we got some good production from our middles,” Kiriyama said. “Sarah [Ngo] did a nice job of distributing the ball.”
BU took an early 4-1 lead in the third set. The Great Danes proved their vitals were intact, fighting back to even the score at eight. However, the Bearcats denied Albany the opportunity to gain an edge, as they went on a huge 9-0 run. Kornmann had five kills during the run, while Anderson tallied two.
Two kills from Albany’s redshirt freshman middle blocker Akuabata Okenwa along with two BU errors contributed to a 5-1 Albany run, narrowing the score to 23-16. A service error pushed the score to 24-16 and a final kill from Ngo slammed the door shut on Albany and clinched the match sweep for BU.
Kornmann, Anderson and Shultz compiled 34 kills on the day, accounting for more than 50 percent of BU’s points. Senior libero Bailey Walker and Ngo contributed to the offensive vigor, leading the team with 16 digs and 35 assists, respectively.
BU’s victory advanced its standing to 4-3 in the AE, good for fourth place. Despite the loss, Albany retained its first place position. In their last two contests the Bearcats have recorded upsets, handing both UNH and Albany their first conference losses.
The key to Binghamton’s success in its last two matchups has been its impressive offense. The Bearcats have hit at a .218 clip in their last two sets, which is well above their season average of .185.
Binghamton hopes to extend its conference win streak to three against last place UMass Lowell. Still, Kiriyama refuses to underestimate the River Hawks regardless of their conference standings.
“[UMass] Lowell will be a tough match,” he said. “We need to work a little harder and more efficiently on offense. Then hopefully we can play with the same intensity we did this past weekend.”
Binghamton is set to face UML on Friday. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. from the Costello Athletic Center in Lowell, Massachusetts.