ITHACA, N.Y.- The Binghamton volleyball team fell in four sets (25-23, 25-15, 18-25, 25-23) at Cornell Friday night. Gabby Alicea led the Bearcats with 12 points, including three aces, in the tense match on the first day of the Cornell Invitational.
 
After  dropping the first two sets, Alicea was the spark for BU in the third, as she served two aces as part of a 5-0 spurt to open the game. Kristella Morina put down a block and then Sarah Ngo and Megan Burgess teamed up for a pair of points. Ngo assisted on a Burgess kill and then the two reversed, with Ngo scoring for a 9-6 advantage.
 
Binghamton followed with an 8-0 to take charge in the set. Two Cornell errors started things, and Erin Shultz followed with an ace. Alicea scored and then combined with Morina for a block to make it 14-7. Ngo notched assists to Morina and Alicea and a Big Red miscue gave BU a 17-7 lead.
 
Two Burgess points stretched the margin, and after a pair of Cornell errors, Burgess served an ace. Cornell committed another error, ending the game, and giving the Bearcats hope.
 
Bianca Anderson got the Bearcats going in the first set, tallying a kill and combining with Burgess for a block for BU's first two points. Ngo then assisted on kills by Shultz and Morina. A bit later, Morina teamed up with Ngo for a block and then Morina scored again, pulling Binghamton within 8-6.
 
Points by Anderson and Burgess kept it close, and after a Cornell error, Alicea served an ace, giving BU its first lead at 11-10. The Big Red scored, but followed with a service error. Ngo hit Morina for another kill, making it 13-11.
 
The teams battled from there, trading points as the frame continued. Anderson scored a pair of points to put the Bearcats ahead, 20-18, and after each team scored, she posted another kill from Ngo. A Burgess point made it a 23-20 BU advantage, but the Big Red answered with five straight points to take the opener. The Bearcats hit .379 as a team in the frame.
 
In the second game, Ngo registered assists to Burgess, Alicea, and Shultz, giving BU a 3-2 edge early. Two Morina kills allowed Binghamton to stay close. Points by Anderson and Alicea held the Bearcats within two as the frame moved on, but Cornell eventually pulled away, taking a 2-0 match advantage.
 
Binghamton rallied in the third, extending the match. The hosts grabbed a 3-0 lead in the fourth frame, but BU slowly rallied. A trio of Alicea kills got the Bearcats within one, and then Ngo posted an ace to even the score at 9. Shultz scored and the Big Red helped the BU cause with attack errors on four consecutive points, giving Binghamton a 15-11 advantage.
 
Cornell responded with a 4-0 burst to tie it, but kills by Shultz and Morina put BU back ahead. The home team tied it again, but Bailey Walker found Shultz for a point and a 22-21 edge. After two Cornell points, Ngo assisted on an Anderson kill, tying the set at 23. The Big Red came away with the final two points, though, ending the contest.
 
Alicea finished with 12 points and nine digs. Burgess and Morina each scored 11.5, while Ngo compiled 35 assists and 14 digs. Walker recorded 17 digs.
 
BU (3-9) will play twice on Saturday-against Loyola-Chicago at 11 a.m. and against Seton Hall at 5 p.m.