Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The No. 6 State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team (22-5) opened up day one of the Vassar Tournament on Friday with a pair of wins. The Hawks won, 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-10, 25-18), against Johnson & Wales University in their first match of the day before topping NYU-Polytechnic, 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-17), in the nightcap.

Senior outside hitter Bryan Weber (Stony Brook, N.Y./Ward Melville) paced a well-balanced New Paltz attack against Johnson & Wales, posting 15 kills while adding six digs. Freshman setter/right side Christian Smith (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) dished out a team-high 20 assists, while sophomore setter John Lutjen (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) boasted three block assists.

For Johnson & Wales, Shawn Kennedy floored a match-high 20 kills. J.J. Bessette handed out a match-high 40 assists, while Ryan Kennedy and Alex Viera collected a match-high 10 digs each.

Against NYU-Polytechnic, freshman middle blocker Christopher Husmann (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) tallied a match-high 11 terminations, while freshman setter/libero James Crowe (Eden, N.Y./Eden) and freshman setter Chris Lilley (Stony Brook, N.Y./Ward Melville) doled out 16 and 14 assists, respectively. Lilley also registered five digs, four service aces and two total blocks.

For NYU-Polytechnic, Eljaz Gilani recorded a team-high 10 kills, while Rishi Sarkar chipped in with 17 assists.

New Paltz faces a tough test tomorrow, as action continues at the Vassar Tournament against two ranked teams. The Hawks square off with top-ranked Nazareth College at 1 p.m. before facing host and 10th-ranked Vassar College at 3 p.m.