BOCA RATON, Fla.- The Binghamton volleyball team defeated Stetson in five games (24-26, 25-20, 19-25, 25-23, 15-7) Saturday, closing its weekend on a high note. Sarah Ngo and Bailey Walker were both named to the Florida Atlantic Invitational All-Tournament Team. The Bearcats also dropped a match with FAU (25-15, 25-15, 25-18) Saturday morning.
 
BU won the second and fourth games against Stetson, while the Hatters collected wins in the first and third sets. Binghamton controlled action in the decisive frame, picking up its first victory of the 2015 season. Ngo assisted on points by Shultz and Alicea to open the set, and then Shultz served an ace for a 3-0 lead. Stetson rallied to tie it at 4, but Ngo posted a kill and an assist to Kristella Morina to regain the advantage. Alicea, Shultz, and Morina each scored to make it 11-5 BU. Shultz and Bianca Anderson combined for a block and then Ngo found Anderson for a kill and a 14-6 lead. Stetson scored the next point, but a Hatter error allowed Binghamton to notch the win. The Bearcats hit .400 with nine kills in the set.
 
"We made a lot of hustle plays, especially Sarah and Bailey. They were all over the floor," said Coach Glenn Kiriyama. "It was a really good team effort. It was a nice comeback and we fought hard to the end."
 
The first game between BU and Stetson was a seesaw battle. Steton took an early lead, but points by Shultz and Anderson got the Bearcats back in the set. After a Walker ace, Ngo found Morina and then Shultz to give Binghamton an 11-7 advantage. Megan Burgess followed with an ace. The Hatters would rally as the frame continued to a 17-all draw. Walker assisted on an Alicea kill to put BU back ahead and then Burgess and Anderson combined for a block. Walker's ace made it 20-19 in Binghamton's favor. Later in the set, BU fell behind by a point, but Ngo hit Anderson for a kill to even the score at 24. Stetson answered with two straight points to take the opener, 26-24, however.
 
The Bearcats responded in the second frame. The teams were about even again for much of the set, with Stetson going up, 19-18, later in the game. BU took advantage of three straight Hatter attack errors for a 21-19 edge. Stetson scored the ensuing point, but then served out of bounds. Shultz followed with an ace for a 23-20 difference. Anderson and Alicea went up for a block and Walker assisted on Alicea's game-ending kill.
 
After the Hatters took the third set, Binghamton again had to come from behind. BU held a slim margin for the majority of the fourth, as a block by Alicea and Morina and a Morina point gave the Bearcats a 22-19 lead. A Stetson service error inched BU closer to victory. Ngo then hit Shultz for a pair of kills, including the decisive point, forcing the fifth game.
 
Ngo led with 36 assists and 22 digs. She was one of five Bearcats with multiple aces in the contest. Alicea paced BU with 15 points in a balanced effort, putting up 11 kills, two blocks, nine digs, and a pair of aces. Shultz scored 14.5 points, including three aces. Morina tallied 12.5 points, while Burgess added 11 in the match. Walker recorded 24 digs in the back row.
 
In a match against the host school, BU fell by scores of 25-15, 25-15, and 25-18. Burgess and Anderson each scored 5.5 points and Alicea added five. Ngo posted 15 assists and Walker contributed 11 digs.
Ngo and Walker both earned all-tournament recognition. Ngo totaled 127 assists and 62 digs, along with five aces, in her first weekend as the Bearcats' new primary setter. Walker compiled 87 digs, getting out to a stellar start in the follow-up to her record-breaking 2014 season, when she set the school's single-season digs record with 558.
 
Binghamton (1-3) returns to the court on Friday at the Cleveland State Invitational. The Bearcats will take on Cincinnati at 4:30 p.m. and then play twice Saturday afternoon, facing Cleveland State and Central Michigan.