Much remains to be determined in the America East volleyball postseason picture as the final weekend of regular season play is set to get underway tonight. With four teams locked in a tie for second place, no conference championship tournament spots had been clinched as of this morning.
One of those four second-place squads, the Binghamton University volleyball team (10-17, 7-4 AE) is scheduled to head to Stony Brook University (11-12, 6-4 AE) on Sunday for its regular season finale. When the two teams met back on Oct. 12, Binghamton bounced back from a 2-1 deficit to push past the Seawolves in a tightly-contested five-set match at the West Gym. Sophomore outside hitter Kristin Hovie led the charge for the Bearcats, posting a match-high 21 kills.
Currently sitting in second place alongside Binghamton, University of New Hampshire and University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Stony Brook has its last four matches, with three of those victories coming in four sets. A sweep of Providence College on Nov. 2 highlights the streak.
Stony Brook is scheduled to face off against UMBC at home tonight before welcoming the Bearcats on Sunday. If UMBC takes tonight’s match over the Seawolves, it would clinch secure a postseason berth. The Seawolves are 3-2 in home matches on the year.
Binghamton enters Sunday’s match having fallen to University at Albany at home on Sunday, a loss that snapped a three-game winning streak for the Bearcats. The Great Danes currently sit atop the conference, and with a win over Providence tonight, they would capture the regular season title for the eighth time in the last nine seasons.
While the Bearcats currently boast the best team hitting percentage in the conference, Stony Brook is ranked No. 1 in opponent hitting percentage, holding their counterparts to an average of .165. BU will look to junior middle hitter Grace Vickers and senior middle blocker Alex Roland, ranked first and second in hititng percentage in the conference respectively, to lead the charge on Sunday. Hovie and senior outside hitter Iva Partaleva, who sit among the conference’s top-10 in average kills per set, will also be key factors. Sophomore setter Amanda Dettmann also ranks No. 1 in the America East in average assists per set heading into the weekend.
The Bearcats are 5-7 overall in road games this season, with a 3-2 away mark in conference play.
Sunday’s match against Stony Brook is scheduled for at noon at Pritchard Gymnasium in Stony Brook, N.Y.