PHILADELPHIA, Pa.- The Binghamton volleyball team rallied past Duquesne in five games Friday afternoon. Bailey Walker set a Division 1 program record with 40 digs as the Bearcats won by scores of 25-23, 16-25, 19-25, 25-22, and 20-18 at the Cherry & White Challenge, hosted by Temple University.
 
BU won the first set before Duquesne came back to win the next two. Binghamton pulled out a fourth-game win, sending the match to a final frame.
 
Early kills by Gabby Alicea, Kristella Morina, and Alexis LaGoy kept the Bearcats in the set. DU went on to grab a 9-6 lead, but Sarah Ngo found Alicea for a kill and Morina and Megan Burgess teamed up for a block. Walker then assisted on an Alicea point, tying the game at 9. With the score even at 14, Ngo hit Kaelan Haag to give BU a slim lead. DU scored next, but LaGoy followed with a kill. After a Dukes point, Ngo found LaGoy again. Duquesne tied it again and this time, Ngo scored, as Kelly Leach assisted, putting Binghamton ahead, 18-17.
 
The Dukes tied it once more, but a DU error made it 19-18 in BU's favor. On another match point, Burgess and Haag went up for a block, sending Molly Davet's attack back and lifting the Bearcats to a thrilling victory.
 
BU totaled 16 kills in the fifth game, hitting a match-high .256 to pick up the win.
 
"In the end, we were able to make enough plays to win it," said Coach Glenn Kiriyama. "It was really back and forth in the fifth set."
 
In the opener, Burgess led the Bearcats to a tight victory to take control of the contest. The senior scored twice early to give her team a 4-1 advantage. Later, an Alicea ace made it 7-3 before the Dukes rallied. Duquesne tied the game at 10 before Burgess responded. She recorded a kill to regain the lead and then she and Morina combined for a block and a 12-10 edge.
 
Eventually, DU grabbed a 16-15 lead, but LaGoy answered with a pair of kills to put her team back ahead. Once again, the Dukes responded, though, and the scored moved to a 23-all tie. Walker found Burgess for a point and then Ngo assisted on an Alicea kill to end the set. Burgess finished the game with 5.5 points for BU.
 
Duquesne rallied with wins in each of the next two frames, forcing Binghamton to come back in the fourth. Haag scored twice at the beginning of the set, giving BU a 4-3 edge. Haag followed with two more kills a bit later, making it an 8-4 margin. "Kaelan played well today," said Kiriyama. "She really helped us off the bench, playing outside."
 
With the score even at 8, LaGoy came up with a pair of points. The teams went back and forth through the middle portion of the game, eventually arriving at 20-20 tie. DU scored, but Ngo hit Alicea for a tying kill. Ngo followed with an assist to Haag for a one-point difference, forcing a Duquesne timeout. Burgess finished a Ngo assist to stretch the lead, and then a DU error made it game point. Another Duquesne error gave BU the win and forced a decisive set.
 
Walker finished with 40 digs, setting a career high and breaking her own BU Division 1 single-match mark. "Bailey played really well and we showed a lot of hustle," said Kiriyama. "There were a lot of long rallies and handled that well today."
 
Ngo logged 55 assists, tying her personal best, and 18 digs. LaGoy scored 18.5 points, including seven block assists. She hit .440 in the match. "Alexis had a nice offensive game for us and she added eight blocks," said Kiriyama. "It was good to see her play like that."
 
Alicea recorded 15.5 points and Burgess tallied 14. Morina added 10.5 points.
 
Binghamton plays twice tomorrow. It faces Montana at 3:30 p.m. and then takes on the host Owls at 7:30 p.m.