Sophomore outside hitter Allison Hovie continued her dominant start to the 2014 season on Tuesday when the Binghamton volleyball team visited Siena for a non-conference matchup. In a three-set sweep of the Saints (1-7), she contributed a game-high 15 kills and eight digs en route to BU’s first win of the season.
“She has been our most consistent hitter overall,” Binghamton head coach Glenn Kiriyama said of his star player. “She has started to mature and make smarter decisions on the court. Her overall play has been outstanding for us.”
Though Binghamton faced a 21-14 deficit in the first set, six Saints kill errors coupled with three Hovie kills cut Siena’s lead to one. After an additional kill from junior outside hitter Megan Burgess and back-to-back service aces from senior setter Amanda Dettmann, BU (1-7) clinched the first set, 26-24.
“I thought overall we played well, better than we have,” Kiriyama said. “It was just a lot of good individual performances.”
The second set saw the Bearcats jump out to an early 4-1 lead. But the Saints wouldn’t roll over — they tied the score at five and then again at 10. The Bearcats momentarily gained the advantage about halfway through the match, at which point a 9-4 Siena run knotted the score once more. An ace by Hovie and a kill by Burgess finally terminated the set with the Bearcats on top, 27-25.
Hovie sustained her dominance in the third period. She added five more kills, leading the Bearcats to a 25-19 victory and ending the match in a three-set sweep for Binghamton.
“It’s big for them,” Kiriyama said of the team’s first victory. “Hopefully it is something they will get used to and they will be able to draw some motivation from.”
Rounding out BU’s main contributors were sophomore libero Bailey Walker, Dettmann and Burgess. Dettmann controlled the offense, dishing out 29 assists with six digs. Burgess added 10 kills on a game-high .320 hitting percentage and Walker contributed a match-high 22 digs. Overall, the Bearcats recorded 13 blocks and forced 28 attack errors from the Saints.
Freshman Alexis LaGoy continued to impress as a middle hitter, a position the Bearcats were desperate to fill in the off-season. She ended Tuesday with a team-high .307 hitting percentage for the season.
The Bearcats will now turn their attention to the Black Knight Invitational, hosted by Army this weekend. Binghamton will take on Oakland University at 1 p.m. Saturday followed by a contest against Army. BU’s last match is set for Sunday, against Holy Cross at 11 a.m.
Though Binghamton looks to continue its success, this slew of games could prove to be a difficult challenge.
“It will be tough this weekend,” Kiriyama said. “[There are] going to be some pretty solid teams. We are going to have to continue to improve in order to do well against them.”
All contests will be held at the Gillis Field House in West Point.