The Binghamton volleyball team dropped to sixth place in the America East standings this past weekend after dropping two conference matches against Stony Brook and UMBC. BU (4-15, 1-4 AE) captured just one combined set over the course of the two matches.
Friday’s game kicked off a rocky road trip for the Bearcats as they took on rival Stony Brook (7-13, 3-1 AE). Binghamton’s vitals were nearly flat throughout the game, dropping three consecutive sets.
Following a sluggish start, the Bearcats rallied with an 11-1 run to take a 12-6 lead in the first set. After Stony Brook jumped ahead, 5-1, sophomore setter Sarah Ngo served as a catalyst, finding freshman outside hitter Erin Shultz for a pair of kills. Sophomore middle hitter Kristella Morina complimented her teammates’ efforts with consecutive aces. But BU failed to hold onto the advantage as Stony Brook took a 19-18 lead. Three points later, the Seawolves went on to put up five straight points to take the opener, 25-21.
Both teams ramped up their intensity levels over the next two matches, battling to gain an advantage. However, BU ultimately fell, 25-18, and 25-23, in its final two sets, respectively, giving Stony Brook the sweep.
Ngo recorded 30 assists over the course of the game while Morina led the Bearcats with 12 points, hitting .563 on the night.
Sunday’s game against the Retrievers (8-10, 2-2 AE) ended with another defeat for the Bearcats, 3-1, making it their fourth loss in as many matches.
BU came out shaky against UMBC, trailing 2-0 at the end of two sets. But Binghamton rallied in the third, taking the set to avoid a sweep. Binghamton scored the opening three points in the period, highlighted by kills from junior middle hitter Bianca Anderson and Shultz. BU didn’t look back, coming out on top, 25-19. But the Bearcats’ run was abruptly squashed, losing the fourth set, 25-17, ending the match.
Freshman outside hitter Gabby Alicea scored a career-high 20.5 points and collected 15 digs against the Retrievers.
“They were both tough matches against good-quality teams,” BU head coach Glenn Kiriyama noted. “We’re just not quite up there yet to match them point-for-point.”
BU is hoping to gather some momentum as it returns to the West Gym this weekend for a conference match against UMass Lowell. The River Hawks stand just one game ahead of Binghamton in the current conference standings.
“We’ve got to start working harder in the gym and in practice,” Kiriyama said. “But I see the team making some progress.”
Binghamton is set to take on UMass Lowell on Friday at 7 p.m. from the West Gym in Vestal, New York.