Dorothy from “The Wizard of Oz” once said, “There’s no place like home.” The Binghamton volleyball team hopes this saying proves true this weekend as it returns home after starting the season with 13 straight games on the road.
“It’s always nice to be at home and have a nice crowd rooting for you,” said BU head coach Glenn Kiriyama. “It’s one of those things we have been looking forward to.”
For the second straight year, the Bearcats (6-7) will open America East (AE) play at home against Albany. Last year’s contest was a thrilling affair in which BU jumped out to a 2-0 lead before dropping three straight sets to lose the match.
“We were a fairly young team last year and we’ve got a lot of players back, so hopefully we can move forward from that,” Kiriyama said.
The Bearcats got off to a slow start this season, but have made strides as of late. They have won five of seven since starting the year 1-5. A big reason for Binghamton’s turnaround is its improved offensive production.
The Bearcats averaged just 34 kills per game in their first six games of the year. Since then, they have upped that number to 46 per game. The increase in production can be attributed to the multiple members contributing to the offensive effort. They currently have five players with over 70 or more kills.
“[A balanced offense] just keeps the [other] team guessing a little bit,” Kiriyama said. “Not being able to focus on any one person sort of spreads out the blocking on the other side.”
Freshman outside hitter Lauren Kornmann has emerged as one of the stars of the team. She only played in eight of the team’s first 15 sets to start the season. But after a breakout match versus Niagara, in which she recorded a career-high 15 kills, she has been on the court for every set.
Kornmann leads the Bearcats with 117 kills this season. She has been an asset to BU all season and will be key to the offense’s success going forward.
“She’s been coming along,” Kiriyama said. “She has been impressive. She’s come through in some pressure situations so we’re just fortunate to have her on our team.”
The start of conference play can be an important turning point in a team’s season, which proved true for Binghamton last season. The Bearcats finished nonconference play with a dismal 3-11 record. However, they bounced back to finish 6-6 in the AE and make the conference tournament.
This season, Binghamton was picked to finish fourth in the AE preseason coaches’ poll, while Albany (6-6) was picked to finish first.
The Great Danes finished last season tied for first in the AE with an 11-1 record. They graduated just one senior from last year’s squad, and will return their leading setter and hitter.
“They are looking pretty good right now,” Kiriyama said. “They’ve got a solid team with good ball handlers and defense.”
In order to keep pace with Albany, BU must limit its errors. The Bearcats committed 42 errors in last year’s contest.
“It’s going to take just a complete effort by our side to be able to defeat them,” Kiriyama said. “We have to be able to pass well, serve well and just control the ball better on our side.”
A win to start the conference season is a goal for any team, but Kiriyama knows there is still a long way to go in the season.
“A win is important, but it is early in the conference so it is not the end all,” he said. “[But] a win would give the players a lot of confidence.”
First serve is set for 7 p.m. Friday at the West Gym in Vestal, New York.