Box Score

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – Playing its first home match of 2015, the No. 3 State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball easily handled Ramapo 3-0 (25-13, 25-23, 25-18) on Wednesday night in the Hawk Center.

The Hawks improve to 4-1 on the year and will begin United Volleyball Conference (UVC) play this weekend, playing No. 12 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and host Penn State Behrend on Saturday, Feb. 14 in Erie, Pa. The Roadrunners fall to 3-6 and will take on No. 2 Kean and Yeshiva on Sunday, Feb. 15 in Skyline Conference action.

New Paltz hit .300 for the night and limited Ramapo to a meager .032 hitting percentage, aided by 22 total blocks for the match. Junior setter Christian Smith (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) recorded a match-high seven kills and hit a staggering .778 (7-0-9) to go along with nine assists, five total blocks and three service aces for the filled out stat line.

Freshman outside hitter Anthony Bonilla (New Paltz, N.Y./New Paltz) tallied six kills, hitting .308 (6-2-13) while junior outside hitter Andy Fishman (Cornwallville, N.Y./Cario-Durham) and junior middle blocker Christopher Husmann (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) both registered four kills apiece. Husmann also notched a match-best five block assists.

Sophomore middle blocker Steven Woessner (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) tallied four kills and a match-high four aces. Senior setter John Lutjen (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) distributed a team-best 14 assists while senior setter/defensive specialist Misa Garo (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Hayes) dished out six assists off the bench in just the third set.

Prior to the match, the 2014 team that won the program's first-ever UVC title and advanced to the NCAA Division III Semifinals was honored with embroidered jackets marking the accomplishment.

The Hawks came out swinging hard in the first set, feeding off the Hawk Center crowd to easily dispose of Ramapo 25-13. New Paltz tallied the first five points of the set as Woessner earned points on four-straight serves. After the Roadrunners called a timeout, the Hawks still retained pressure and built a commanding 16-8 lead thanks to a pair of kills by Lutjen.

Ramapo inched within 16-10 but New Paltz stormed right back with six-straight points as Smith tallied two kills for the Hawks, with the home team taking a 22-10 advantage. Junior defensive specialist Chris Lilley (Stony Brook, N.Y./Ward Melville) recorded a kill for the 24th point and used a Ramapo service error to close out the set.

Set number two was a little more interesting with the score going back-and-forth due to sideout points. With the score tied at six, Ramapo scored three-straight points to put New Paltz in a 9-6 hole. The Hawks rallied, however, and knotted the set at 11. But the Roadrunners remained pesky and stuck around, tying the contest at 17. New Paltz scored three more points from that moment, though, including a Fishman kill and Woessner ace.

The Hawks moved to set-point (24-21) but allowed the Roadrunners to get within one (24-23). Following a New Paltz timeout, Smith put the set away with a kill to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead.

The third set started much like the second but finished in the same fashion as the first. With the Hawks leading 4-3, New Paltz rattled off seven-consecutive points on Smith serves to climb to a 10-3 lead. New Paltz continued to impress and built an 18-9 cushion after a kill by Garo. Ramapo looked to rally towards the end of the set, but the Hawks proved to be too much and closed out the match thanks to a Jake Roessler (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) kill.