VESTAL, N.Y. - After a strong comeback, the Binghamton volleyball team (11-13, 5-4 America East) fell just short to Bryant (15-11, 6-3 America East) in five sets (20-25, 21-25, 25-18, 25-15, 8-15) at the Events Center Friday night.
Merima Smajlovic earned her AE leading 15th double-double with 14 kills and digs.
Viktoria Dimitrova registered her third consecutive match with 20+ kills (21), becoming the first player to do so since 2024 (
Tsvetelina Ilieva).
Regan Kadel provided 44 assists and
Emily Cronkhite had team-high 22 digs.
"I still think that we played really strongly." head coach
Allie Yaeger stated. "We picked up on a lot of Bryant's tendencies and just really were able to dominate in the third and fourth sets and just kind of ran out of juice in the fifth."
In the first set, the Bearcats went up 7-4, thanks in part to two kills from both
Maya Coblentz-Brown and Dimitrova. But the Bulldogs kept it close before going on an 11-7 run to move ahead 15-14 at the first media timeout. After the break, Bryant then scored the next four points to extend their advantage to 19-14. The Bearcats 23-19, but the Bulldogs ultimately took the first set 25-20.
Set two began with both teams racing out to a 7-7 tie. Then, the Bearcats went on a 8-5 run to grab an 15-12 lead at the media timeout, taking advantage of four errors by the Bulldogs. Bryant responded with the next three points to tie the set. Binghamton returned the favor with three-consecutive points of their own to retake the lead 18-15, causing Bryant to call a timeout. The Bulldogs fought back to tie the set at 19. After both teams traded points, Bryant eventually recorded back-to-back blocks to move ahead 23-21, and then scored two more points to claim the set and increase its lead to 2-0.
The Bulldogs started the third set by taking an 8-5 lead. Remaining within striking distance, the Bearcats countered with a 10-5 run to move ahead 15-13 at the media timeout. Binghamton then scored three of the next four points to force Bryant to take a timeout. The Bearcats did not relinquish the momentum, however, closing out the set on a 7-4 run to take the frame.
In the fourth set, the Bearcats got out to a 7-3 advantage, with Dimitrova posting two kills. Coblentz-Brown and Smajlovic each then added two kills to bring Binghamton to a 12-7 lead before Bryant called a timeout. The Bearcats maintained their pace by going on an 8-6 run to stay ahead 20-13.
Looking to avoid a reverse sweep, Bryant started the fifth set by going up 3-1. Binghamton fought back to bring it to a 5-5 tie. But the Bulldogs took five of the next six points to move ahead 10-6, leading to a timeout by Binghamton. Ultimately, the Bearcats could not complete the comeback, as the Bulldogs took the final frame 15-8 to win the match.
"We just gotta continue to work on us. It's really working on making us as a core and as a group better every single day and everything single day." Yaeger said when looking ahead to their final matchup where they close out the regular season at New Hampshire at 7 p.m., on Friday, Nov. 14.
Seniors Smajlovic, Cronkhite, and
Alexandra Koleva were recognized and honored post-game.
Hinman, Howard & Katell, LLP is the presenting sponsor of Bearcats Volleyball.
