For Immediate Release: September 16, 2006
Contact: Anthony G. Naglieri (sports@binghamton.edu)
Phone: 607-777-2956

Volleyball splits a pair of matches on final day at Cornell Invitational
BU outlasts Buffalo before falling to St. John's; Kane named to all-tournament team

UB Box Score
SJU Box Score

ITHACA, N.Y.- Senior middle blocker Megan Hoag (Brunswick, Ohio) and junior right side hitter Kathleen Schauer (Littleton, Colo.) each registered a team-high 14 kills to lead the Bearcats to a 3-2 triumph over Buffalo, highlighting a 1-1 effort on the second and final day at the Cornell Invitational Saturday at Newman Arena.

The Bearcats went the distance in their first match of the day, taking a 30-28, 22-30, 30-28, 25-30, 15-12 decision from the Bulls before falling to St. John's, 30-20, 30-24, 30-28, in the nightcap.

Junior middle blocker Jacki Kane (Centennial, Colo.) was BU's third player to hit in double figures in the victory over Buffalo (10-4), tallying 13 kills at a team-high .310 clip. Kane's efforts on the weekend earned her a second straight all-tournament team nod, a week after earning similar honors at the Harvard Invitational.

Senior setter Ashley Meffert added a 48-assist, 11-dig double-double, her fifth of the season, while sophomore libero Jaclyn Strader (Kettering, Ohio) and classmate defensive specialist Katherine Courage (Virginia Beach, Va.) kicked in 16 and 12 digs, respectively.

UB was led by Jenna Hape's 19 kills and 12 digs, while Claudia Neba chipped in with 15 kills and a match-high .360 hitting percentage.

The two New York State squads matched up very evenly over the course of the five-game set, finishing even in digs (56-56) and team blocks (13-13), and apart by only narrow margins in assists (BU 58-57), kills (UB 63-60) and service aces (UB 16-13). Despite registering three fewer kills as a team, Binghamton outhit Buffalo, .213 to .199 on the afternoon.

"This was a nice win for us against a strong Buffalo program," said head coach Glenn Kiriyama. "It was a total team effort. Ashley (Meffert) did a great job setting up our hitters, Kathleen (Schauer) delivered some very timely shots when we needed them and I thought our middles were extremely active throughout. It was nice to see everyone performing at such a high level."

In its tournament finale, Binghamton was overmatched by tournament champion St. John's (14-1), falling in three straight games. The Red Storm were led by Caitlin Rimgaila who posted match-highs with 15 kills and a sterling .583 hitting percentage. Overall, St. John's outhit the Bearcat women .292 to .225 and finished with a lofty 53-34 advantage in digs.

For the Bearcats, Jacki Kane capped off an impressive weekend by pacing all hitters with 11 kills at a BU season-high .474 clip. Complementing Kane in the middle, Megan Hoag chipped in a ten-kill, five-dig performance.

"St. John's is a very complete team. We hit decently, but had a really tough time getting anything down against them," said head coach Glenn Kiriyama. "We kept the games pretty close, but towards the end of each game they just overpowered us. It was a good effort on our part. Unfortuntely, we just came up a bit short."

Binghamton, now 3-10, returns to action on Wednesday to take on defending MAAC champion Siena. The evening's contest will be broadcasted regionally throughout the Capital Region on TW3 (Time Warner Ch. 3). First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Notes: For the second straight weekend, Schauer has established a new highwater mark in kills (14). Last weekend against Rutgers, the Colorado native posted what was then a career-high 13 kills.The Buffalo contest also saw her surpass the 400 kill mark for her career...Hoag has at least held a share of the team-lead in kills in all but four matches this season...Ashley Allen (Mill Creek, Wash.) notched a match-high eight blocks against Buffalo surpassing her previous personal-high (6) set earlier this season against Cal State Fullerton....Binghamton is now 2-2 in matches that have gone five games.