The Binghamton volleyball team headed to the Black Knights Invitational last weekend hoping to build off of its first victory against Siena last Tuesday. Instead, the Bearcats, having lost sophomore outside hitter Allison Hovie to injury, struggled to find consistency as they dropped all three of their matches.
“We are very inconsistent right now,” BU head coach Glenn Kiriyama said. “There were some good stretches. We won a few games here, a few close games. [We] just couldn’t hold anything consistently. It was good to see the good stretches, but we have got a lot of work to do still.”
The Bearcats (1-10) fell behind, 6-1, in their opening match on Saturday against Oakland. An 8-5 BU run, sparked by senior outside hitter Kristin Hovie and junior outside hitter Megan Burgess, cut the lead to two. However, BU would score only five more points in the set, dropping the frame, 25-14. Freshman middle hitter Alexis LaGoy dominated in the second set, contributing four kills en route to a 25-18 victory for the Bearcats to tie the match at one set apiece.
But Binghamton unraveled in the third set, unable to hold a late 20-16 advantage. Oakland finished on a 9-3 run to win the set, and the tough loss stayed with the Bearcats through the fourth set, which they dropped, 25-11.
“I think passing sort of went downhill on our side so it hurt our offense,” Kiriyama said of the pivotal third set. “We weren’t able to score off of their serve and get the ball back. Oakland is a pretty solid team and they started playing better than they have been.”
BU started strong in its second game of the tournament when it took on the invitational’s host, Army. With the score tied at 21, four straight kills from four Bearcats earned them the advantage, 25-21. But being unable to maintain the momentum, Binghamton dropped three consecutive sets and resultantly the contest as well.
The Bearcats concluded play on Sunday against Holy Cross. After trading victories in the first two sets, Binghamton fell apart in the third. The Bearcats recorded a .071 hitting percentage in the third period, falling by an underwhelming 25-13, and trailed wire to wire throughout the fourth set, for a 25-12 loss.
“In practice we just need to keep working on fundamentals, just get better,” Kiriyama said. “They just need to get more confident in what they are doing. I think the better they get at their positions, the more consistent they will be able to play.”
Despite dropping three match-ups, the Bearcats pulled some positives from the weekend. For one, senior setter Amanda Dettmann continued to add accomplishments to her stellar career: This weekend, she amassed her 96th assist, good for third in program history.
“She has been the steadying force for the team all four years,” Kiriyama said. “She has been a captain all four years. Just a steady demeanor, consistently works hard in practice. She has been a great example to everyone else on the team. She has been a great leader and has done a lot for our program.”
LaGoy also continued to impress, solidifying her position as the starting middle hitter. She finished the tournament with 23 kills and currently maintains a .297 hitting percentage on the season.
“[LaGoy] has been a bright spot for us and a good spark plug for us on the court when she is in there,” Kiriyama said. “It has meant a lot to us. I think she will continue to develop and sort of be one of the top players in the conference coming up here.”
The Bearcats are set to return to action next weekend when they head to the UMES Invitational. The team is slated to open play against Bethune-Cookman at 3 p.m. Friday, to be followed by a contest with the host, Maryland Eastern Shore, at 7 p.m. On Saturday, BU is scheduled for matches with Rider and Campbell. All games will take place at the Hytche Athletic Center in Princess Anne, Md.