Coming off a hard-earned win against UMass Lowell last weekend and a loss to Siena on Thursday night, the Binghamton women’s volleyball team fell to Albany, 3-0, to close the week on Friday. The Bearcats have compiled a 5-17 overall record and are now 2-5 in conference play. BU currently sits in fifth place of the America East standings with five games remaining.
Following the suspenseful match against Siena on Thursday, in which BU dropped in five sets, Friday’s road game at Albany (11-8, 6-1 AE) turned out to be much less compelling. BU came out flat and was quickly swept in three sets.
“We just didn’t control the ball very well at [the Great Danes’] place,” BU head coach Glenn Kiriyama said. “The middles weren’t able to get as involved as they were [in Binghamton’s first match against Albany].”
The Great Danes came out hot in the first frame, and an early lead turned into a 25-12 victory in the first set.
After three kills in the first frame, senior right side hitter Megan Burgess continued playing well, recording five kills and a block assist in the second frame. But, Albany was still able to maintain control of the second set and go on to grab a 2-0 match advantage with a 25-14 win.
The Bearcats showed a little more life in the third, scoring the first three points in the set off of two kills by sophomore Sarah Ngo and one by sophomore middle hitter Bianca Anderson. But BU’s lead didn’t last long as Albany regained its dominant form to jump back on top. The Great Danes went on a 15-7 run to open up a five-point advantage. While freshmen outside hitters Gabby Alicea and Erin Shultz recorded kills late in the set, the Great Danes were able to pull away with an eight-point victory, 25-17, to complete the sweep.
“[They’ve] got to keep working on some small things here and there,” Kiriyama said. “We have to work on a little more ball control to get our middles going. Hopefully that will open up some holes on the outside for our hitters.”
The Bearcats are set to hit the road again on Friday against New Hampshire. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Lundholm Gymnasium in Durham, New Hampshire.