For Immediate Release: September 8, 2007
Contact: Anthony G. Naglieri (sports@binghamton.edu)
Phone: 607-777-2956

Volleyball sweeps pair of matches to capture Golden Flash Invitational
Allen named tournament MVP, Mueller on all-tournament team

Youngstown State Box Score
Kent State Box Score

KENT, OHIO --The Binghamton volleyball team was clicking on all cylinders on Saturday, defeating Youngstown State in three games and host Kent State in a five-game thriller to round out the weekend with a perfect 3-0 record and capture the Golden Flash Invitational. After dropping four of their first six matches, the Bearcats have now won four straight to improve their record to 6-4 overall.

BU took early control of the first match of the day versus Youngstown State (5-4) and never looked back, sweeping the Penguins in three games (30-14, 30-21, 30-28). The second encounter of the afternoon proved a tougher test, as the Bearcats won the first two games, saw Kent State come back to tie, and took the fifth and deciding set to hand the Golden Flashes (9-1) their first loss of the 2007 season (30-26, 30-28, 27-30, 27-30, 15-9).

Junior Ashley Allen (Mill Creek, Wash.) was named the tournament MVP after averaging 2.82 kills and 3.00 digs per game. Freshman setter Lindsey Mueller (West Bend, Wis.) averaged 12.36 assists and 4.55 digs per game in the tournament and was also named to the all-tournament team.

"We executed terrifically as a team this weekend," said ninth-year head coach Glenn Kiriyama. "We went up against some strong competition this weekend and are thrilled to come out of it with three victories."

The Bearcats broke open a 7-7 tie against Youngstown State with an 11-1 run en route to the 30-14 win. BU did not commit an error in the game, hitting .500 (13-0-26). The second game was more of the same, as BU jumped out to a 13-5 lead and won game two by a 30-21 margin. Freshman Michelle McDonough (Orland Hills, Ill.) put down the match-clinching kill to thwart a late Penguins' rally in a tight third game to secure the fifth victory of the season.

The Bearcats were dominating on both sides of the net, as BU racked up a hitting percentage of .264 while YSU could only muster a .071. Allen led the way with a match-high 13 kills on two errors (.389) and 11 digs, while McDonough and senior captain Kathleen Schauer (Littleton, Colo.) added nine and eight kills, respectively. BU committed only 10 errors in the match while Youngstown State had 29.

In the second half of the Saturday's action, the Bearcats outlasted a previously-unbeaten Kent State squad in a five-game thriller. After splitting the first four games, the match came down to the deciding fifth game. Schauer, who totaled a BU Division I record 29 kills, sparked an 8-1 surge to overcome an early 3-1 deficit and lead the squad to its tournament title.

Mueller (66 assists/27 digs), Allen (11 kills/15 digs) and junior Brianna Strong (Elkhart, Ind.) (14 kills/16 digs) all had double-doubles for BU while junior Jaclyn Strader (Kettering, Ohio) added a team, career, and BU DI-best 33 digs.

Binghamton will open its home schedule on Tuesday against Syracuse. After running off a program-best 7-0 mark on its home floor in 2006, the Bearcats begin their nine-game slate riding a school-record 14-match winning streak.

Game Notes: Mueller's 66 assist performance against Kent State was the second highest match total in Binghamton's Division I history, and the most since 2006 graduate Ashley Meffert recorded 69 in a five-game set against Northeastern on November 1, 2003....Strader's 33 digs topped Shannon Kelly's previous record of 31 set against Buffalo on September 17, 2002. It is the highest total recorded by a Bearcat since moving to the Division I level. She leads the team with 5.14 digs per game...Schauer's 29 kills fell three shy of Binghamton's all-time school record and were the most for a Bearcat in over 13 years (Laure Caiaccia, Oct. 8, 1994). On the weekend, she averaged a team-best 4.50 kills per game and a .325 hitting percentage.