“We’re learning, our little ones coming in and playing defense too, they want to be in and they’re hungry,” said Binghamton head coach Allie Yaeger. “Our freshmen want to learn, and they’re really hungry to get in there, and that’s all you can ask for.”

The Bearcats (7-10, 2-1 AE) opened the afternoon with a tightly contested first set. Both sides traded points early, but the Bearcats began to pull ahead thanks to long rallies and kills from freshman right side hitter Maya Coblentz-Brown, establishing an 18-12 lead.

NJIT (3-14, 0-3 AE) answered with a 10-6 run, but a decisive finish from sophomore middle blocker Sophia Holland secured the first set win.

“[Coblentz-Brown], I mean, come on,” Yaeger said. ”She got 20 kills today and hit .409 as a freshman in a conference play game. She is outstanding, and it just makes the future of this program and this team so great. I’m so excited for her.”

NJIT answered in the second set, capitalizing on the Bearcats’ inconsistencies to take a 20-11 lead. Binghamton answered with an 11-3 run, powered by back row support from senior outside hitter Merima Smajlovic and connections between graduate student setter Alexandra Koleva and sophomore right side hitter Viktoria Dimitrova. However, the Highlanders held their lead and evened the match with a 25-22 second-set victory.

Binghamton regrouped in the third, using strong communication and steady serving to establish momentum and a 10-5 lead. Koleva, who finished with 43 assists, consistently found her hitters in rhythm. Freshman middle blocker Francesca Pierdonati anchored the defense at the net as the Bearcats pulled away 25-19 to take a 2-1 set lead.

NJIT, however, refused to fold, storming back with a 25-17 win in the fourth set. Although Holland contributed key blocks, the Highlanders’ offense surged as they forced the match to a deciding fifth following the Bearcats’ lost rhythm.

”The NJIT team fought really, really hard against us,” Yaeger said. “They were digging balls like crazy, and it kind of came down in that fifth set, and I told the girls in one of the last time-outs, they’re digging, we’re digging, it’s going to come down to who makes that error at the last second. So, fortunately for us, it was them. But I’m glad we fight, that is something that we do.”

The fifth set opened with both teams again trading points, as NJIT briefly pulled ahead 10-7. However, the Bearcats dug in defensively, driven by senior libero Emily Cronkhite’s 27 digs. The Bearcats quickly regained their rhythm and closed the match with an 8-0 run, capped by a kill to secure the 15-10 set victory and overall match win.

“It’s huge,” Yaeger said. “Going into this weekend, the players knew how big this was. To go 2-0, we have to get our home games, we have to get our home matches. Last year, we played really well at home, we went undefeated in conference play.“

Coblentz-Brown powered the Bearcats with 20 kills, hitting an efficient .409 on the day. Her steady offensive presence proved vital in a match filled with long rallies and an over-regulation set number.

While Coblentz-Brown led the offense, several of her teammates played pivotal roles. Smajlovic and Dimitrova each added 12 kills, with Smajlovic also contributing 18 digs. Pierdonati tallied a team-high eight blocks, supported by Dimitrova’s four and Holland’s three. Koleva’s 15 digs complemented her 43 assists.

Binghamton will look to keep its momentum when it takes on Bryant on Sunday, Oct. 12. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield, Rhode Island.

The Bearcats handily claimed the first two sets of the match before dropping the third set 25-11. After forcing the fourth set past regulation, Binghamton won the final points on serves, claiming the fourth set and the victory.

“UMBC, they’re a brand new team and so are we,” said Binghamton head coach Allie Yaeger. “We’ve been used to them looking a certain way for a really long time, and I know vice versa, same thing with us. We watch film and we prepare, and we prepare.”

The match opened tightly, with UMBC (3-9, 1-1 AE) staying close as Binghamton (6-10, 1-1 AE) worked to establish a rhythm. Behind a late kill from freshman right side hitter Maya Coblentz-Brown, the Bearcats secured the 25-22 first-set win.

Despite the close score, the Bearcats led for the majority of the set, never relinquishing their lead after going ahead 5-4.

“We switched to a 5-1 tonight to start, we’ve been running a 6-2 for a while now,” Yaeger said. “So I’m really happy that that turned out in our favor and we looked successful doing it.”

Momentum carried into the second set, where Binghamton pulled away early and capitalized on UMBC attack errors to build a 17-11 lead. UMBC answered with a 3-0 run, but the Bearcats put together a dominant close to the set, with an 8-2 run to claim the 25-16 victory and a 2-0 lead.

UMBC answered in the third set, however, making adjustments that challenged the Bearcats’ defense. The Retrievers’ offense broke through, and Binghamton struggled to recover, surrendering a pair of 4-0 runs and dropping the set 11-25.

In the fourth set, UMBC jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, but Binghamton rallied to stay in it with steady hitting and defense. UMBC regained control throughout the bulk of the set, establishing a 19-14 lead, but the Bearcats clawed back to tie the score at 20-20, outscoring their opponents 6-1 in the process. Both sides traded points to 22-22 and later 24-24, pushing the set beyond regulation.

A service ace from sophomore middle blocker Sophia Holland cemented the victory for Binghamton, sealing the 27-25 score and match win. Throughout the fourth set, freshman libero/defensive specialist Celeste Ocampo provided a steady presence in the back row, digging key balls and helping Binghamton receive serves effectively. Sophomore outside hitter Briana Binagi contributed with consistent kills and offensive pressure.

“We subbed the 6-2 in a little bit in the fourth set, which just gave us a little bit of a different look, a different setter, a different right side,” Yaeger said. “And we started hitting more shots instead of powerful swings and getting blocked, more tipping. We were finding spots on the floor where they weren’t instead of powerful hitting at them.”

Leading the way for Binghamton in its first AE victory of the year was sophomore right side hitter Viktoria Dimitrova with a season-high 16 kills.

Graduate student setter Alexandra Koleva registered a team-high 36 assists, while senior libero/defensive specialist Emily Cronkhite chipped in 20 digs.

“We had a kind of momentum that went down, but I feel like in other matches, we couldn’t manage to come back up, and now we did it,” Dimitrova said. “And now we did it all together, and I feel like for the first time in a long time, we really felt as a team, everyone was fighting for each other, and it was just amazing.”

Binghamton will continue its season against Bryant on Sunday, Oct. 12. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield, Rhode Island.