Box Score

VESTAL, N.Y. – The Binghamton volleyball team witnessed its season come to an end in the America East tournament semifinals falling to Albany in four sets, Friday afternoon at New Hampshire's Lundholm Gymnasium. The Bearcats (9-20, 7-5 AE) carried the No. 2 seed into the tournament, but fell to the No. 3 Great Danes for the third time in tournament history.

The Bearcats dug themselves are early 2-0 hole that they were unable to escape. Binghamton rallied in the third set to extend the match, but failed to finish Albany off in the fourth.

"It was tough trying to climb out of a 2-0 hole," head coach Glenn Kiriyama said. "We knew we could play with them, but we had to pass better and put some pressure on them. I thought we came out and played extremely hard in the last two sets. We finally managed to stay in control in the third but Albany got a lot hands on our balls which means we executed better on offense. Unfortunately, we just couldn't buy a few points at the end but that's the way the ball falls sometimes."

Sophomore Allison Hovie, who was named to the All-Tournament team, led Binghamton with a match-high 16 kills adding 17 digs for her 10th double-double of the season. Older sister Kristin Hovie, who played in the final match of her career, added 10 kills while America East Rookie of the Year Alexis LaGoy chipped in 11 on a .346 hitting clip.

Senior setter Amanda Dettmann, who also ended a tremendous career Friday afternoon, handed out 37 assists, adding eight digs and two blocks. Classmate Alexa Zbytniewski picked up five digs in her final match in a Bearcat uniform.
"Our seniors sacrificed a lot for our program," Kiriyama said. "They will be missed greatly, especially their leadership. They left our young team in good hands and have been great role models for our program."

.Binghamton was limited to a .145 hitting percentage, committing 23 attack errors. Albany hit .178 but amassed 10 more kills than the Bearcats (57-47). Binghamton won the very competitive dig battle 87-80 while Albany collected nine blocks opposed to the Bearcats' six.

Albany controlled the first set leading start to finish after racing out to a 10-3 lead. The Great Danes extended its lead to 12 at one point as the Bearcats attempted to chip away at the large deficit. Binghamton fought off a pair of set points, but it wasn't enough as Albany took the opening set, 25-16. The Great Danes hit .277 in the frame while limiting the Bearcats to a .077 attack percentage. Megan Burgess registered four kills in the set while the Hovie sisters recorded three each.

Binghamton came out firing in the second set utilizing a 4-0 run to take a 10-7 and force an Albany timeout. However, out of the break the Great Danes scored three straight points to level the stanza. Albany eventually staked out a 20-16 advantage, but a 4-1 run capped by an ace from LaGoy evened the set at 21. Albany's defense stepped up in the final stages of the frame coming up with a huge block then forcing a Bearcat attack error to take a 2-0 lead, 25-23. Binghamton struggled down the stretch offensively compiling a .083 hitting clip.

After Albany staged an early 3-0 lead Binghamton finally woke up as a 4-0 run gave the Bearcats a 10-9 advantage. A pair of Allison Hovie kills coupled with a Burgess and Bianca Anderson block sparked the run. The Great Danes leveled the frame at 11, but a resounding 14-4 run by Binghamton quickly ended the frame. The Bearcats hits a match-best .387 during the set connecting on 15 kills while committing just three errors.

In a tightly contested fourth set Albany maintained a marginal lead until an Allison Hovie kill pulled Binghamton within one. The Great Danes kept the Bearcats at bay with 20 kills in the frame until late in the set when a 3-0 run leveled the stanza at 22, forcing an Albany timeout. A Kristin Hovie kill handed Binghamton a 23-22 advantage, but Albany scored the final three points to end the Bearcats' season 25-23.

Binghamton's record in America East tournament play drops to 7-6 overall, making its ninth appearance in the postseason. Albany now holds a 3-2 advantage over the Bearcats in the America East tournament snapping a brief two-match win streak for Binghamton (2009 and 2012 title matches).

Sophomore libero Bailey Walker recorded a team-high 24 digs breaking Binghamton's single-season digs record in the process. The first-year starter for Bayport, N.Y. established a new mark of 558 digs during the 2014 season. The previous record of 551 was held by all-time digs leader Xiomara Ortiz '14.

The Bearcats finish the season with a 9-20 record, going 7-5 in America East play. Binghamton earned the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament for the fifth time in program history.