MORGANTOWN, WV. - Binghamton volleyball opened the Mountaineer Invitational Thursday, falling to Delaware State in five sets and dropping a contest with West Virginia in four sets. The Bearcats will take on Merrimack to close out the tournament Friday.

Giulia Bonifacio had a strong day, notching 20 kills in the opener and adding 11 kills in the second contest. Tsvetelina Ilieva added a 16-kill and 11-kill effort. Madison Konopka had 23 digs against Delaware State.

The opening matchup with Delaware State began with the Bearcats (7-4) surrendering a late lead to fall in the first set, but the team bounced back to win the next two frames. A blowout in the third set gave the team momentum, but it fell in the final two.

Binghamton trailed for a majority of the fourth set, but managed to bring the score to 23-22 on a Lottie Scully ace. The Hornets scored the final two points and pulled away in the fifth to win the match.

The day's second matchup saw BU battle in the first two sets, but fall in narrow defeats. A strong third set, highlighted by key points down the stretch led to a win to keep the match alive. An attack error by the hosts gave Binghamton the 25-22 win.

West Virginia finished the contest with a 25-12 win to earn the win. They scored six of the last seven points and are now 2-0 in the tournament.

The Bearcats face Merrimack Friday at noon to finish the tournament. It will be Binghamton's first ever matchup with the Warriors.