Contact: Terrence Lollie (sports@binghamton.edu)
Box ScorePROVIDENCE, R.I. – Behind a steady defense and a balanced attack, the Binghamton volleyball team defeated Providence in four sets for their fourth America East victory, Friday night at Alumni Hall. In a vital conference meeting, the Bearcats (12-16, 4-6 AE) kept their playoff hopes alive against the Friars (8-19, 2-7 AE) winning 19-25, 25-20, 27-25, and 25-23. Binghamton, currently in a tie for fourth place with UMBC, hosts Hartford and New Hampshire next weekend as they try to advance to their eighth straight postseason.
"It was a good team effort with everyone contributing," head coach Glenn Kiriyama said. "We did a good job of executing the offense and we got better as the match went on. It was a nice road win and the girls fought hard for all four games and really dug in to get the victory."
After dropping the first set, 25-19, the Bearcats roared back to win the next three frames, taking the 3-1 victory. Down 13-11 in the second set, BU began to regain the momentum on a kill by senior
Julie Chambers to even to score at 15. A 4-1 run by the Bearcats, capped by kills from freshmen
Kristin Hovie and
Amanda Dettmann, gave Binghamton a 19-16 lead. Following a Providence time out a service ace from Chambers coupled with a kill by Hovie helped Binghamton even the match at a set apiece, 25-20.
In a highly competitive third set Binghamton fell behind quickly, 13-7. The Bearcats did not back down however, as a pair of terminations by junior middle
Alex Roland trimmed the deficit to three, 15-12. Providence maintained the cushion until Binghamton called time out with the score 21-17. A BU attack error out of the time out pushed the Friar's lead to five, but the Bearcats dug in and started the comeback. A 5-0 BU run, highlighted by a pair of kills from Hovie, knotted the set at 22. The set would be tied three more times before a kill by Roland coupled with a Providence error ended the extended set, 27-25.
Providence was not phased by the Binghamton comeback playing extremely tough in the match's final game. With the frame tied at 12 kills from freshman
Annelot Nieuwenhuis and sophomore
Grace Vickers gave Binghamton a 15-12 advantage. Providence managed to cut the BU lead to one, but several Friar errors aided the Bearcats' 25-23 fourth set victory.
Kristin Hovie had a team-high 15 kills for the Bearcats, while Alex Roland produced 14 of her own. Hovie and Roland both played well defensively, tallying four blocks each. Freshman setter Amanda Dettmann handed out a match-high 41 assists and chipped in 11 digs. Sophomore libero
Xiomara Ortiz had a great night on the backline for BU, registering a game-high 24 digs. Freshman
Emily Litwin had the best game of her young career recording a season-best 19 digs.
In a largely defensive battle, each team recorded ten blocks with the Bearcats compiling 91 digs to the Friar's 87. Both teams struggled hitting the ball, as Providence out hit Binghamton .128 to .120. The BU defense held the league's second best hitter, Lauren Fletcher, to just 15 kills on a .211 hitting clip.
Binghamton returns to the court next Friday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. as the Bearcats host Hartford in another crucial America East match. A little less than two weeks ago, BU fell to the Hawks in a highly competitive five-set match.
NOTES: Binghamton is in fourth place with UMBC at 4-6, a half-game up on Hartford at 3-6. The Retrievers swept the season series with the Bearcats and would hold any tie-breakers over BU. Hartford plays at UMBC Sunday in a key conference match up.
