University of New Hampshire slowed down a surging Binghamton University volleyball squad with a 3-1 victory over the Bearcats on Sunday. Binghamton, which entered the UNH match on a three-game winning streak, knocked off Providence College in straight sets on Friday, helping the Bearcats to stay near the top of the America East standings.

The Bearcats (5-13, 2-1 America East) dominated the Friars (1-19, 0-3 America East) on Friday, 25-14, 25-17, 25-19, to gain their second conference win of the 2012 season. Sophomore outside hitter Kristin Hovie led the team with 12 kills, and senior outside hitter Iva Partaleva and junior middle hitter Grace Vickers added nine kills apiece. The Friars gained an early lead in the first set, but once BU got its momentum and confidence headed in the right direction, they were nearly unstoppable.

On Sunday, the Bearcats stumbled against the Wildcats (11-8, 3-0 AE), falling in four close sets (28-26, 25-23, 21-25, and 25-21). Binghamton had an early lead in the first set and accumulated two set-point opportunities, but wound up falling, 28-26. Fresh off her America East Setter of the Week honor, sophomore Amanda Dettmann collected 49 assists and 18 digs. Junior libero Xiomara Ortiz accumulated 23 digs throughout the match.

“I thought our team played well this weekend,” senior middle blocker Alex Roland said. “There were moments in the UNH game where we showed real character and fight. We can only learn from our loss and prepare ourselves for the next game. We just need to work on the little things and continue to grow as a team.”

New Hampshire barely outhit BU, .293 to .258, but the Wildcats now hold a 3-0 conference record and sit in first place. Binghamton now sits in third place in the America East and holds an overall winning percentage of .278.

Nine regular season conference games remain on the schedule for the Bearcats.

“Everyone in our conference is equally matched and therefore the little things will be the difference between a loss and a win,” Roland said. “We still have a long road ahead until the conference tournament, but I am confident that our team is focused and ready to compete.”

The Bearcats are scheduled to visit the University at Albany at 7 p.m. on Friday. Albany currently holds a 2-0 conference record after beating University of Hartford, 3-1 this past weekend.