VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton volleyball (12-6, 3-1 America East) hosts visiting New Hampshire (13-7, 2-2 AE) at 1 p.m. Sunday at West Gym, looking for the program's first season sweep of UNH in five years. The match will be broadcast on ESPN3. 

The Bearcats began the weekend with a 3-0 win over visiting Bryant Friday night to keep within a half-game of first-place UMBC in the America East standings. Each of BU's three conference wins has come in straight sets. The teams met in Durham two weeks ago and Binghamton produced a sweep in three tight sets (25-19, 25-22, 25-22). 

On Friday, freshman hitter Giulia Bonifacio registered a double-double with match-highs of 13 kills and 12 digs and junior hitter Tsvetelina Ilieva added her own double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs. Senior middle Anna Sprys hit .412 (8 kills) with five blocks and freshman setter Lottie Scully handed out 36 assists. 

In the conference stats, Sprys (1.25/set) and junior right side Stephanie Gatto (1.19/set) are 1-2 in blocks. Sprys also is fourth in attack percentage (.317). Ilieva is third in kills (3.61/set) and fourth in aces (26). Bonifacio is fourth in kills (3.19/set) and seventh in attack percentage (.278). Freshman libero Madison Konopka is third in digs (4.03/set).   

The Bearcats have now won five of their last seven — all in straight sets. 

New Hampshire (13-7, 2-2 AE) has won eight of its last 10, including a 3-0 sweep of first-year Division I member Stonehill on Wednesday. The Wildcats own conference wins over Albany (3-1) and NJIT (3-1) and dropped straight-set matches to the Bearcats and Bryant. Six of the team's last eight matches have been decided in the minimum three sets. UNH was picked to finish tied for third (BU was picked fifth) in the Coaches' Preseason Poll. The team leads the America East in aces (2+ per set) and is second to Binghamton in both hitting percentage and opponent hitting percentage. Wren Macaulay (5.67 assists/set) is the reigning America East Setter of the Year and Kelly Kaufmann (.331 attack%, 2nd in AE) was an all-conference selection last fall.  

New Hampshire leads the all-time series 26-17, having won eight straight until BU's victory two weeks ago. In that first head-to-head match in Durham, Ilieva and Bonifacio put down 15 kills apiece to lead BU's attack. Bonifacio hit .440, Ilieva hit .293 and the pair combined for 14 digs as BU complemented its offense by holding UNH's attack to just .177 efficiency. Scully had a double-double with team-highs of 34 assists and 12 digs.

After today's match, the BU schedule slows down with just one match in the next 13 days — Friday night at Albany.