Top-seeded and host Binghamton volleyball (17-7) lost two all-conference players to injury and then lost to fourth-seeded New Hampshire (19-9) in the America East semifinals 3-0 Saturday afternoon at West Gym. The Wildcats won 30-28, 25-23, 25-16 to advance to Sunday’s championship match, where they will face second-seeded UMBC for the tournament title.
The Bearcats, already playing without all-conference setter Lottie Scully, hung tough in two tight sets but then lost first team all-conference hitter Stefana Stan midway through the third set and couldn’t recover. Binghamton had swept UNH during the regular season, winning 3-0 and 3-2. It was just the second time BU has suffered a 3-0 sweep all season (3-0 to Boston College on Aug. 27).
“It’s tough going into a match where we didn’t have a lot of time to prepare with that lineup (after Scully’s practice injury on Thursday),” head coach Allie Yaeger said. “I thought Jess (backup setter Bilello) did an outstanding job coming in but New Hampshire wanted it and it’s hard to beat a team three times in a season. It’s disappointing for us … but it just wasn’t our day. We didn’t execute. We talked all week about the serve and serve receive game and it wasn’t there today. We were out of system so much in the first two sets. New Hampshire did an outstanding job with their serve and pass game so I feel like that’s where they beat us.”
Binghamton hit just .197 for the match – one of the lowest percentages of the season.
The opening set went to extras after being tied 14 times and having four lead changes. The Bearcats broke away from an 18-18 tie after two kills from Player of the Year Tsvetelina Ilieva and two UNH attack errors, and led 22-19. But a pair of receiving errors allowed the Wildcats to tie it up 24-24. Binghamton had three set points but UNH countered each time and then the Wildcats scored the final three points to seal the first set.
In set two, BU trailed 8-2 before uncorking their own 8-2 run to tie it at 10-10. It was even at 15, 19, 21 and 22 before UNH delivered back-to-back kills. Stan helped the Bearcats fight off one set point with a kill but the Wildcats put away the winner to again take the set by the narrowest of margins.
In the final set, the Bearcats trailed 10-9 before 6-2 UNH run gave them a 16-11 lead. Binghamton got it back to three, 16-13, when Stan went down with an injury. At the time, she led BU with 11 kills. New Hampshire finished out the match with a 9-3 run as the air was taken out of a boisterous BU crowd of nearly 500.
Ilieva and Stan led the BU attack with 11 kills apiece. Bilello handed out 29 assists and freshmen Giulia Bonifacio and Madison Konopka recorded 15 and 11 digs, respectively.
Binghamton will continue its season at the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC), a 32-team tournament whose bracket will be unveiled on Nov. 27. The Bearcats earned a berth with their America East regular season title.
Source : Bubearcats
