Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 AKRON, Ohio – The Binghamton volleyball program dropped a pair of matches at the Akron Invitational, Saturday night from the James A. Rhodes Arena. The Bearcats (0-5) played both Austin Peay and Akron tough, but fell in four sets in each match. Binghamton continues the tournament tomorrow with matches against Bryant and Drake.

"We're starting to come around," head coach Glenn Kiriyama said. "However, we still have a lot of work to do. We committed too many errors to overcome some deficits we put ourselves in. They were both tough matches but I was happy to see us play better. The last couple games I saw a lot of improvement both defensively and on our offensive movement. We'll get some sleep tonight and get back to work tomorrow."

In Binghamton's opening match of the tournament, the Bearcats fell to Austin Peay 25-19, 18-25, 25-17 and 25-21. Sophomore Allison Hovie led the Bearcats with a team-high 10 kills and 12 digs. Senior setter Amanda Dettmann picked up her first double-double of the season with 31 assists and 12 digs. Sophomore libero Bailey Walker recorded her first 20-dig match of her career while freshman Alexis LaGoy finished with eight kills.
The Bearcats quickly found themselves behind early in the first set before a pair of Allison Hovie kills pulled the Bearcats within three, 13-10. However, a 6-2 run by the Governors pushed the lead back to six helping Austin Peay take the first set 25-19. 

The Bearcats responded in the second set as a pair of Alexis LaGoy terminations handed Binghamton a 7-5 lead. Both teams battled throughout the middle of the set until a 7-1 run by the Bearcats created separation and handed BU a 22-15 lead. The run was sparked by a pair of service aces from Walker and capped by a fourth LaGoy kill. Binghamton took the second set 25-18 thanks to several Austin Peay errors down the stretch.

After dropping the third set 25-17, Binghamton took the early advantage in the fourth set, but that was short-lived as Austin Peay used a 9-3 spurt to regain the lead. The Bearcats leveled the frame at 14 following back-to-back kills by Kristin Hovie and Bianca Anderson, but the Governors were too much breaking away with a 7-1 run. Binghamton pulled within two late in the frame, but it wasn't enough as Austin Peay took the final game, 25-21.

Against host Akron, Binghamton battled the Zips tough throughout, but lost 25-22, 25-23, 22-25 and 25-21. The Bearcats were led by junior Megan Burgess, who connected on a match-high 17 kills while hitting a staggering .615. Allison Hovie added a season-high 14 kills while older sister Kristin Hovie chipped in 11. Dettmann had one of her best matches of the year, handing out a season-high 46 assists.

Binghamton hit a season-high .236 against Akron including a .324 clip in the opening set of the night's final match. The Bearcats fought the Zips throughout the first set as the frame witnessed nine ties and five lead changes. Binghamton took a 17-15 advantage following an Allison Hovie kill and Akron error, but the Zips scored the next three points to regain the lead. From there a Dettmann kill brought BU within one, but Akron held on for the 25-22 first-set victory. Burgess and the Hovie sisters each tallied four kills in the frame.

After falling 25-23 in the second set, Binghamton fought off the sweep with a 25-22 third-set victory. Again it was Burgess and the Hovie sisters leading the Binghamton attack as all three recorded three kills during the set. The Bearcats followed up its .324 hitting clip with a .294 attack percentage, committing just three attack errors. Binghamton led much of the set, but Akron took a 21-18 lead late in the frame. However, a 4-0 Bearcat run evened the stanza at 21. Kills by Burgess and Kristin Hovie coupled with a pair of Akron errors helped Binghamton stave off the straight-set defeat.

In the final set, Binghamton took an early 4-1 advantage but Akron stormed back with a 5-0 run. After a Dettmann dump tied the set at 10, the Zips embarked on a 7-3 run to create breathing room. The Bearcats pulled within two thanks to a Burgess kill, but that would be as close as BU would get as Akron took the fourth set, 25-21.

Binghamton will head to the Capital Region on Tuesday, Sept. 9 for its annual match with MAAC member Siena. Last season, the Bearcats swept the Saints in straight sets in Vestal. Binghamton holds an 11-3 record against Siena since elevating to the Division I level in 2001.