The Binghamton volleyball team has a poor track record for wins on the road, but this weekend it tallied up two consecutive conference wins in New England. On Friday night, the Bearcats (8-14, 5-4 America East) went up against UNH, followed by a match against University of Massachusetts Lowell the following evening. They defeated New Hampshire (10-13, 5-4 AE), 3-1, and swept the Riverhawks (5-17, 0-9 AE).
As the four-time defending conference champions, the University of New Hampshire was truly the team to beat. The first set was a back-and-forth affair, featuring nine ties. The Bearcats, however, were able to pull ahead following a 9-4 run.
In set two, Binghamton came out of the gate firing on all cylinders as they took an early 15-8 edge. Still, the Wildcats were not to be easily defeated. The team rallied hard to cut the lead to just three points. The Bearcats would not give up the frame, as senior setter Sarah Ngo provided her teammates, junior outside hitter Erin Shultz and senior middle hitter Lexi LaGoy, with several key assists to take the game 25-22.
Set three saw five early lead changes, the last of which continued for the rest of the sequence as the Wildcats took the frame, 25-22. Looking to close out the match, the Bearcats rallied hard during the fourth set. They were down 6-4 early on, but Binghamton went on a 10-2 run to take a 14-8 advantage. The Wildcats fought to stay in the match, but ultimately fell to the Bearcats, who took the final game 25-17. This match marked a season sweep of the Wildcats on behalf of Binghamton.
“They were able to execute very well, especially on offense,” said BU head coach Glenn Kiriyama. “Our outsides had a nice match, Sarah [Ngo] did a nice job of getting them the ball to hit.”
Saturday’s match against UMass Lowell began with an initial point-for-point set. Once the Bearcats took a 20-19 lead, the teams continued to trade points up until a 25-25 tie. Two key kills from Shultz and junior outside hitter Gaby Alicea allowed Binghamton to take the sequence 27-25. Game two was also tightly contested, but ultimately the Bearcats were able to take it, 25-22. In the third set, Binghamton began with an early 8-5 margin; it retained control of the set up until its final moments, when the Riverhawks took a 24-23 advantage following a difficult stretch. The Bearcats fired back three straight points, which allowed them to take the set and the match, 26-24, sweeping the Riverhawks.
“Despite that 3-0 score, it was a really tough match,” Kiriyama said. “Every game was tight … we’d get a lead, they’d catch up … we fought well, I thought, when we needed a side out, we got it, and when we needed those key hits we were able to get them.”
Shultz and Alicea were two fierce contributors to the offense in both matches, combining for 35 kills against New Hampshire and 30 kills versus UMass Lowell.
The Bearcats are set to face off against the University of Hartford this Friday. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. from the West Gym in Vestal, New York.