VESTAL, N.Y. - The Binghamton Volleyball team will host the second annual Bearcat Classic this Friday and Saturday, Aug. 25-26, inside the Events Center. Merrimack College, Duquesne University and Saint Peter's are slated to be this year's competitors. Fans can attend all the matches this weekend and throughout the season free of charge, thanks to this athletics department initiative
The six-match schedule sees two contests on Friday night, with Duquesne taking on Saint Peter's at 4 p.m. and Binghamton versus Merrimack at 7 p.m. Saturday's competition starts with Saint Peter's vs. Merrimack at 10:30 a.m. and Binghamton against Duquesne at 1p.m. The final two matches will be played at 4:30 p.m., Merrimack vs. Duquesne, and 7 p.m. with Binghamton vs. Saint's Peter's.
For the first time in school history, the Events Center will play host to volleyball competition. After this weekend's invite, there will be three other home conference matches inside the arena, against UNH, Oct. 6, Bryant, Oct. 8, and UMBC, Nov. 5. The remaining contests will be held next door at the familiar West Gym.
The Bearcats hold a 4-0 series lead over Merrimack, with their most recent victory came last season with a 3-0 win against the Warriors at West Virginia's Mountaineer Invitational, Sept. 22. BU owns a sole win against Duquesne, 3-2, at Temple University's Cherry & White Challenge, Sept. 11, 2015. Binghamton also has 2-0 series advantage over Saint Peter's with two, three set victories in 2021 and 2022.
Last season, BU went 2-1 at the Bearcat Classic with a five set win over the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Aug. 26, and a sweep of Siena College, Aug. 27. The team's only loss came at the hands of ACC member Boston College, 3-0.
Binghamton will head to Buffalo, N.Y. for University at Buffalo's Invitational, Aug. 31-Sept.2. The competition will feature matches against the University of Montana, DePaul University and UB.
