The Bearcats, who entered this weekend on a six-game losing streak, snapped the skid by sweeping Hartford (0-16, 0-1 America East) on Friday night to secure their first AE victory. But BU (4-13, 1-2 AE) failed to keep the momentum going, falling to New Hampshire (11-7, 3-0 AE) in three games on Sunday afternoon.
“That first win is always important,” BU head coach Glenn Kiriyama said. “We need to defend our home turf here so it was important that we get this one tonight.”
In its second conference match of the season, Binghamton swept Hartford. The Bearcats’ dominance showed early as BU scored eight straight points in the first game to build an 8-1 advantage. The lead would never be in doubt as sophomore setter Sarah Ngo had nine assists in the period en route to a 25-9 first game win.
As hot as the Bearcats started the first game, the script was flipped in the second when Hartford scored six of the first seven points. After trailing for most of the game, Binghamton jockeyed for position after tying the score at 20. BU didn’t look back after that, scoring five of the final six points. Sophomore middle hitter Kristella Morina delivered the final kill to secure the game for BU.
Binghamton easily took the final game, 25-16, from the Hawks. Ngo led the team with a total of 26 assists, while Morina led in blocks, with six, and kills, recording nine.
Despite their success against Hartford, the Bearcats’ next matchup against 2014 America East champions New Hampshire truly tested their play.
Early on, the score went back and forth, with Binghamton squandering a four-point lead. But unlike on Friday, the Bearcats failed to turn the scoreboard back in their favor. After the teams were tied at 15, New Hampshire pulled away before Binghamton’s fate was sealed by two attack errors on the 24th and 25th points as UNH secured a 25-18 victory.
Games two and three were closer, with scores of 25-23 and 25-22, respectively, but the outcome was the same as that of game one.
“New Hampshire’s a solid team all around, and it was promising in that we played them pretty tight all three games,” Kiriyama said. “They didn’t just steamroll through us at all … I thought we fought well for a lot of points, we hustled well, we just didn’t give up.”
Binghamton’s performance was highlighted by Ngo, who again led the team in assists with 32. Freshman outside hitter Erin Shultz led with 11 kills, while junior libero Bailey Walker recorded 22 digs.
BU is scheduled to return to action on Friday against Stony Brook. First serve is set for 7 p.m. from Pritchard Gymnasium in Stony Brook, New York.