VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton volleyball (10-11, 4-3 AE) looks to strengthen its position in the America East standings with the first of two weekend road matches Friday night at UMass Lowell. The Bearcats and River Hawks (6-16, 1-6 AE) get underway at 7 p.m. at the Costello Athletic Center.

Head coach Glenn Kiriyama's squad has won two straight league matches - becoming the first America East team since 2012 to beat both Albany and New Hampshire in the same season. The Bearcats are currently in fourth place in the standings (top 4 advance to postseason) but sit just one game out of second place and two clear of fifth-place Stony Brook and Hartford (both at 2-5). Binghamton has repeated a pattern in league play that produced two straight wins followed by two straight losses followed by two straight wins. The Bearcats, who will travel from Lowell to Hartford for a Sunday tilt, have five matches remaining in the regular season.

Freshman outside hitter Lauren Kornmann and junior setter Sarah Ngo were both honored by the America East for their performances in BU's big three-game sweep of previously unbeaten league-leader Albany. Kornmann earned the conference Player and Rookie of the Week awards and Ngo was chosen as Setter of the week. It marked the second time each player earned weekly honors this season.
 
Kornmann, also BU's Athlete of the Week, paced the Bearcats with 18.5 points in three matches over the weekend. She led the team with 17 kills (5.67 per set), which also led the America East. Ngo compiled a team-high 35 total assists in the straight-set win.

Lowell is coming off a 3-2 comeback win over Hartford in its last match on Saturday. The win was the team's first in seven conference matches. As a team, the River Hawks rank third in the America East (behind Albany and Binghamton) in blocks. Freshman hitter Katherine Claybaugh ranks seventh in the league in aces (0.31/set) and eighth in kills (2.78/set). 

Back on Oct. 2, BU had to rally from a 2-1 set deficit to push past the River Hawks 3-2 in Vestal. In that match, Ngo recorded 34 assists, 15, and 6.5 points for her fifth double-double of the season. Sophomore hitter Gaby Alicea scored 15 points, including four aces. Kornmann and sophomore hitter Erin Shultz each tallied 11.5 points and senior libero Bailey Walker logged 19 digs and a pair of aces.

Binghamton has never lost to UMass Lowell and owns a 10-0 record in the head-to-head series, which began back in 1998 when both programs were Division II members of the New England Collegiate Conference.