VESTAL, N.Y. – The Binghamton volleyball team closed out the latest edition of the Bearcat Classic Saturday, falling to Connecticut 3-2 and Lehigh 3-0 at the Events Center.
 
The Bearcats were the only team to win a set against UConn at the tournament, as the Huskies defeated both Fordham and Lehigh in straight sets over the weekend. Between both games, senior hitter Merima Smajlovic led Binghamton with a combined 23 kills. Sophomore setter Regan Kadel also had a total of 39 assists for the day.
 
UConn 3 Binghamton 2
In their first match of the day, the Huskies prevailed 23-25, 25-18, 25-11, 23-25, 15-9.
 
UConn hit .309 as a team and added 11 aces to keep the Bearcats at bay. Binghamton received a team-high 11 kills from Smajlovic and 10 putaways from freshman Jalia Dublin. Smajlovic added nine digs and produced a team-high 15 points. Junior libero Emily Cronkhite collected 19 digs and Kadel handed out 22 assists.
 
The Bearcats took a tight opening set that featured 10 ties and four lead changes. Tied at 23-23, UConn had a service error and Kadel put down an ace to close it out. In the second frame, UConn used a 6-0 mid-set run to take control and hit .452 to even the match. The Huskies then opened the third set with a deciding 11-0 run and rolled to a 2-1 set advantage. But the Bearcats returned the favor with a dominating start to Set 4. After building leads of 11-3 and later 20-13, Binghamton held off UConn down the stretch and finished it with a kill from Smajlovic. Dublin had four of her 10 kills in the set. But in the fifth set, the Huskies built a 12-3 cushion and closed out the match.
 
Lehigh 3 Binghamton 0
In the final match of the tournament, the Mountain Hawks swept the Bearcats in straight sets 25-22, 25-17, 26-24.
 
The Mountain Hawks posted a hitting percentage of .356 and eight aces. Smajlovic once again led the Bearcats with 12 kills and 13 points, while both Kadel and graduate setter Alexandra Koleva each had 17 assists. Cronkite added another 13 digs, bringing her total for the season up to a team-high 45.
 
Binghamton grabbed an early advantage in the first set, going up 10-7. After bringing its deficit to 14-13, Lehigh went on a 6-1 run to go ahead 19-15. The Bearcats took the next three points to bring it to 19-18, but the Mountain Hawks responded with three points of their own. After Binghamton posted another three consecutive points, Lehigh won the first set by scoring three of the final four. While set two featured another back-and-forth battle between the two teams, Lehigh pulled away with a 10-1 run to take the point, hitting .560 in the frame. In the third set, Binghamton jumped out to another lead, going up 9-5. However, Lehigh went on another large run, this time at 10-4, to take a 24-21. Binghamton would not go down without a fight, taking the next three points to extend the frame. But the Mountain Hawks ultimately prevailed by scoring the next two points to secure the match.
 
Bearcat Classic All-Tournament Team
Olmstead was the only Binghamton player to make it onto the Bearcat Classic All-Tournament Team. In three games, she recorded 20 kills, 10 block assists and three digs.
 
The entire Bearcat Classic All-Tournament Team is as follows:
 
UConn - Audrey Rome
UConn - Grace Maria
UConn - Dogu Kutlu
Lehigh - Ufuoma Omene
Lehigh - Alysia Fingall
Fordham - Audrey Brown
Binghamton - Hannah Olmstead
 
Up Next
The Bearcats close out their opening weekend by hosting Hofstra at the Events Center on Sunday at 1 p.m., as part of Camp/Club Team Day.