When only four teams make a conference’s postseason tournament, every game matters. And for the Binghamton University volleyball team, tonight’s match at University of Maryland, Baltimore County gives the Bearcats (7-15, 4-2 America East) an opportunity to separate themselves from the fourth-place Retrievers (10-13, 3-3 AE).
Binghamton currently resides in a second-place tie with University of New Hampshire, which defeated the Bearcats on Sept. 30. A win in tonight’s match against UMBC would give head coach Glenn Kiriyama’s team at least a two-game lead over Stony Brook University and University of Hartford, which are tied for fifth place.
On Sept. 21, Binghamton opened its America East slate at home against UMBC. The Retrievers kept the Bearcats at bay in the first set, but Binghamton eventually pulled away en route to a sweep (25-22, 25-18, 25-12).
Led by sophomore outside hitter Kristin Hovie’s 16 kills and .500 hitting percentage, Binghamton posted a .402 hitting percentage, its highest clip of the season. In fact, the team’s next-highest hitting percentage stands at .303 against Providence College.
Sophomore setter Amanda Dettmann propelled the offense with 41 assists against UMBC. With her solid effort against Syracuse University just two days earlier, the sophomore earned America East Setter of the Week honors on Sept. 24.
As a team, Binghamton registered 51 kills while UMBC tallied just 26. The Retrievers’ .115 hitting percentage was also significantly lower than Binghamton’s.
But following the Bearcats’ win over UMBC, Kiriyama and several players credited the home crowd with creating a palpable energy. The Bearcats will be on the road the second time around. To this point, Binghamton has played just two conference games on the road, sweeping Hartford but falling 3-0 to University at Albany.
UMBC has built an early reputation as a tough home team in conference play, beating Providence College and Stony Brook by a combined 6-1. In their only America East home loss, the Retrievers took New Hampshire to five sets.
UMBC enters the match with three wins in its last four games. In those three wins, the Retrievers have fallen in just one set, against the Friars.
Binghamton, on the other hand, enters as loser of three of its last five matches, a stretch that comes on the heels of a three-game winning streak.
Most recently, the Bearcats downed Stony Brook in five sets. The victory, which came last Friday at the West Gym, marked just the second time in eight tries this year that Binghamton has won in five sets.
Tonight’s match against UMBC is set for 7 p.m. at UMBC’s RAC Arena.