Through his tenure as head coach of the Binghamton volleyball team, Glenn Kiriyama has been known to expose his team to top talent early in the nonconference season, a tactic used to shape his teams into winning form come conference play. This season was no exception, as evidenced in Binghamton’s 3-14 record outside of the America East.
One winning weekend later, including a 1-0 start in the America East, it looks like the Bearcats might be turning their season around just in time.
Facing Cornell on Wednesday, BU returned its star outside hitter in sophomore Allison Hovie from an injury that benched her for two weeks.
“[Hovie is] a gifted athlete,” Kiriyama said. “She’s definitely a difference maker, but she also brings a lot of energy to the court – that might make more of a difference than anything else.”
Binghamton fell behind in its first set against the Big Red (3-8), trailing 7-4. After a fortunate string of BU kills and Cornell errors, the Bearcats took a 14-13 lead and never looked back, winning the first set, 25-22. The second set saw a similar story, with a Hovie kill giving Binghamton the final spurt it needed to turn a late 17-16 lead into a 25-20 win. BU dominated the third set, leading by as many as 12 points en route to a 25-14 victory and securing the team’s second straight-set victory of the season.
Junior outside hitter Megan Burgess led BU’s attack with 13 kills and a .462 hitting percentage. In her first game back from injury, Hovie matched Burgess offensively with 13 kills and a .333 hitting percentage. Sophomore libero Bailey Walker added 15 digs.
Saturday, the Bearcats traveled to face Albany in their first America East match of 2014. With the Great Danes (2-11) also struggling in their early season, the match endured through the full five sets – the first such match for BU all season.
“[The Great Danes are] sort of our rivals, so it was easy for them to get up for the match,” Kiriyama said. “Being our first conference match, their energy was pretty high all match long.”
The opening set proved to be a back-and-forth shootout between the two squads, with neither team taking an advantage larger than two. A kill by senior setter Amanda Dettmann was enough for the Bearcats to take the first set, 25-23.
Albany rebounded in the second set, with 12 of sophomore setter Mikayla McCauley’s match-high 56 assists converted in the period. The Great Danes ousted Binghamton, 25-13, in the set. In the third, the teams remained close for much of the set, but a kill by freshman middle hitter Alexis LaGoy—who provided a spark for BU during Allison Hovie’s absence—gave the Bearcats the third set, 25-23.
Desperate to bounce back, the Great Danes capitalized on BU errors in the fourth, forcing a fifth set after posting a narrow 25-21 set victory.
Battling fatigue, both teams suffered from errors and neither could consolidate a sizable lead. Hovie delivered for BU once again, serving the match-deciding ace that turned out to be the play of the night. Binghamton won the set, 16-14, and the match, 3-2.
The triumphant first victory in the America East for the Bearcats was well deserved according to their head coach.
“It’s a great start,” Kiriyama said. “They’ve been working hard all preseason, and it’s nice for them to play well and get a win.”
In addition to her game-winning service ace, Hovie tied a career high in kills with 19. Dettmann added 52 assists while Walker put on another strong defensive performance with 33 digs.
Binghamton aims to address some issues in its next game, against New Hampshire, especially concerning the team’s hitting percentage – the team posted a .168 mark against Albany.
“We want to get better efficiency and eliminate some of our forced errors, as well as just handle the ball better,” Kiriyama said.
BU is set to take on New Hampshire Friday at the Lundholm Gymnasium in Durham. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.