Kiriyama returns as Bearcats' head coach for 23rd season
8/26/21 by Joe Tonetti
Photo by Harry Karpen, Photography Editor
Coming off a lackluster spring 2021 campaign, the Binghamton women’s volleyball team is set to take on a normal fall schedule starting this Friday. Despite tallying a 1-11 record last season, Binghamton head coach Glenn Kiriyama looks forward to seeing his players take the court and compete.
“We’re finally looking forward to having somewhat of a normal season this year,” Kiriyama said. “The team has been looking forward to it and the players are getting anxious. We have a good group here.”
Kiriyama, who is entering his 23rd season, credited his returning middles as having the most experience and the greatest strength on the court.
“One of our strengths is our middle because we have all three middles coming back from this past year,” Kiriyama said. “As a group, they probably have the most experience of any group on our team right now.”
Of the BU middles, junior middle hitter Anna Sprys built up the strongest stat sheet last season. Sprys led the team with 33 blocks and recorded 74 kills to rank third overall among the Binghamton team during her sophomore season.
Also returning to the Binghamton roster is sophomore outside hitter Stefana Stan. As a freshman, she started all 12 matches for the Bearcats and recorded 128 kills, good enough for second-best in the BU lineup.
“Our outside is decent right now,” Kiriyama said. “We have [Stan] coming back. She had a nice freshman campaign and she was one of those players who I think has improved the most over the course of last season.”
Alongside Stan, sophomore right side hitter Stephanie Gatto returns to the lineup. She was also a starting athlete for the Bearcats and totaled 10 aces over the course of her freshman campaign.
“We’re trying to focus on things that we can control,” Gatto said. “We can’t control the heat of the gym or the slickness of the floor, but we can control our level of preparedness and our standard of training.”
As a returning upperclassman on the roster, senior defensive specialist Emily Rail said in addition to the team’s goals, she aims to become more of a team leader for the Bearcats this year.
“We’ve been talking about personal goals and about team goals this season,” Rail said.
“We’ve been really intentional going into practice, reminding each other to be gracious for the opportunities we have. Personally, I’m looking to just extend my leadership role on the team with my last season here. Pass well. Be loud on the court. Be a good leader.”
In its closing matchup of the 2021 spring season, Binghamton not only grabbed its first win of the season, but its first win since Nov. 4, 2018. The victory came against Stony Brook at home to end the Bearcats’ winless run, a streak spanning 36 matches.
Binghamton is set to kick off its 2021 fall season at the Towson Tournament at Morgan State University this weekend. The first matchup of the tournament will be on Friday, Aug. 27 against the United States Naval Academy. First serve is set for 1:30 p.m. at the Hill Field House in Baltimore, Maryland.
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