VESTAL, N.Y. - Halfway through the conference schedule, Binghamton volleyball looks to continue its momentum when the Bearcats (13-6, 4-1 America East) face longtime rival Albany (6-14, 1-3 AE) at 7 .m. Friday night on the campus of Russell Sage College. This is the first of two matchups in two weeks between the two programs.  

Binghamton has won six of its last eight games and stands just a half-game behind UMBC in the America East standings. Junior hitter Tsvetelina Ilieva, the reigning BU Student-Athlete of the Week, ranks third in the conference in kills (3.64/set) and fourth in aces (28). Freshman Lottie Scully is the reigning America East Setter of the Week after averaging more than nine assists in a 2-1 week for the Bearcats. 

The Bearcats are coming off a weekend sweep of visiting Bryant (3-0) and UNH (3-2). The team's lone conference loss was a 3-2 home defeat at the hands of reigning champion UMBC. Binghamton leads the America East in attack percentage, attack percentage defense, blocks and digs.

Albany has dropped back-to-back 3-0 road matches at Bryant and UMBC and sits uncharacteristically outside the top four in the current standings. Their lone conference win was a three-game sweep of NJIT. The Great Danes have made 20 consecutive postseason appearances and have won 19 combined regular season and tournament titles, making them the most accomplished America East volleyball program. They were picked second in the Coaches' Preseason Poll (BU was picked fifth) and returned three starters from a 2021 squad that went 8-4 in conference play and pushed top-seed UMBC to a fifth set before falling in the America East title match. 

The Great Danes own a commanding 31-15 lead head-to-head against the Bearcats and have won nine of the last 10 and 13 of the last 15. The teams did split the season series last fall, with BU pulling off a surprising 3-2 win in late September at West Gym.