VESTAL, N.Y.- The Binghamton volleyball team will face New Hampshire in the America East Tournament on Friday, November 20. The semifinal match is slated for a 7 p.m. start at Lundholm Gymnasium.
 
BU (9-18, 6-6 AE) enters the playoffs on a four-match winning streak. It beat UMass Lowell, 3-0, on November 15, doing its part to move into a tie for third place in the conference. With UMBC's loss to New Hampshire Sunday, the Bearcats ended the regular season in a tie at 6-6 with Stony Brook and UMBC. Stony Brook won the three-way tiebreaker, with Binghamton edging the Retrievers for the final spot due to its advantage in total points scored in the two matches between the teams this season.
 
Coach Glenn Kiriyama has his team in the postseason for the second straight year and the ninth time in eleven seasons. Sophomore Sarah Ngo led the America East with 958 assists in 27 matches. Freshman Gabby Alicea paced the team with 318 points and a team-high 29 aces. In her last four outings, Alicea is hitting .283 with 76 points. Kristella Morina, a sophomore, ranks second in the league with 100 total blocks this year, while junior Bianca Anderson stands fourth with a .280 hitting percentage in 2015.
 
UNH (19-8, 11-1 AE) defeated Stony Brook and UMBC last weekend to clinch home-court advantage for the conference tournament. The Wildcats shared the regular-season title with Albany, but earned the top seed due to its edge on winning percentage in conference sets this year. It marks New Hampshire's third straight regular-season America East title. It has won each of the last two conference tournaments.
 
Junior Keelin Severtson spearheads the UNH attack. The setter led the league in assists per set (9.51) and aces per set (0.54). Her 51 aces are seventh-most in Division I this year. Demi Muses, another junior, paces the Wildcats with 333 points on a .282 hitting percentage. Senior Tori Forrest is next with 306 points in 2015, leading a Wildcat senior class that features seven players.
 
New Hampshire swept BU in a pair of competitive matches this year. On October 4, UNH won 25-18, 25-23, and 25-22 at the West Gym. Alicea and fellow freshman Erin Shultz combined for 22.5 points and Ngo posted 32 assists and 8 digs in the defeat. On October 30, the Wildcats came away with a 25-23-, 25-23, 25-10 win at home. Shultz led the Bearcats with 14 points and 11 digs, while Ngo notched 29 assists and 10 digs.
 
In the other semifinal, Albany and Stony Brook will square off at 4 p.m. Friday. The winner of that contest will meet the winner of the BU-UNH match on Saturday at 5 p.m.
 
Binghamton has won the America East Tournament three times-2005, 2009, and 2012.