VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton volleyball will make its first appearance in a national tournament in 10 years when the Bearcats (17-8) face St. John's (19-13) at 7 p.m. Friday in the opening round of the 32-team National Invitational Volleyball Championship. Boston College is hosting the four-team pod and the Eagles (19-13) face University of Buffalo (19-13) in the earlier first-round match at BC's Margot Connell Recreation Center. The two winners meet at 4 p.m. Saturday in the second round.

Binghamton punched its ticket to the tournament by winning the America East regular season title. Much like the basketball NIT selection, the NIVC grants automatic bids to conference regular season champions who don't advance to the NCAA tournament. The Bearcats lost in the America East semifinals on Nov. 19 after seeing two all-conference players go down with injuries. Binghamton hosted the four-team conference tournament as the top seed. UMBC won the event to gain the NCAA tournament berth from the America East.

Under America East Coach of the Year Yaeger, the 2022 Bearcats orchestrated a dramatic turnaround of the program, winning more matches than the last four years combined. The team's regular-season win percentage (.708) was the highest in the program's 21-year Division I history. Binghamton went 8-2 to secure the program's first-ever regular season title. 

America East Player of the Year Tsvetelina Ilieva leads the Bearcats after an exceptional first year on campus. Ilieva averages 3.76 kills per set (342 total kills) and has a current string of 12 straight matches with double-digit kills. Senior blocker Anna Sprys, who joined Ilieva as an all-conference selection, is the team's top blocker. Sprys led the entire conference in blocks (1.33/set) and also is hitting .296 with 1.86 kills/set. 

St. John's went 10-8 to tie for fourth place (of 11) in the BIG EAST. The team lost in the first round of the conference tournament and will be making its second appearance in the NIVC. The Johnnies are led by a pair of student-athletes from Italy in graduate student Rachele Rastelli (3.67 kills/set) and sophomore Giorgia Walther (3.73). Both players were unanimous selections to the All-BIG EAST team. The St. John's roster features eight international students plus two players from Hawaii and another from California.

Binghamton and St. John's didn't play this season but have four common opponents, having each played Bryant, Boston College, Columbia and Georgetown. In those matches, the Bearcats went 3-2 and St. John's was 5-0. St. John's holds a 4-0 lead in the all-time series. In the last head-to-head match five years ago, St. John's posted a 3-0 neutral court win at the Cornell Invitational. The schools also met in 2011, 2013 and 2016.