Tournament Website
Union (N.Y.) Box Score
Skidmore Box Score

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz women's volleyball team (24-10) split on the second and final day of the Skidmore Invitational on Saturday, besting Union (N.Y.) College, 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-19, 25-20), before falling to host Skidmore College, 3-2 (21-25, 25-17, 18-25, 25-17, 15-4). The Hawks placed third at the event with a record of 3-1, while Skidmore won the tournament title with a perfect 4-0 mark.

As a result of their strong play throughout the tournament, sophomore libero Carrie Hack (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) and senior outside hitter Melinda DiGiovanna (West Hempstead, N.Y./West Hempstead) were named to the All-Tournament Team.

Against Union, DiGiovanna led the way with 20 kills, while junior middle hitter Laura Stanhewicz (Warwick, N.Y./Warwick Valley) chipped in with 14. Sophomore setter Marissa King (Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua Academy) handed out 48 assists.

In the Skidmore match, DiGiovanna hit .328 with 26 kills and just seven attack errors in 58 total attempts, but New Paltz as a team was unable to outhit Skidmore, as the Thoroughbreds hit .256 to the Hawks' .202. Sophomore setter Brigid Moore (Victor, N.Y./Victor) took over the setting duties and fared well, dishing out 35 assists, while DiGiovanna and Hack each had 16 digs, giving DiGiovanna a double-double. Stanhewicz controlled the net defensively with five block solos and one block assist.

For Skidmore, Kelley Vershbow floored 20 kills, while Mallory Mendelsohn provided a whopping 55 assists as the Thoroughbreds' primary setter. Defensively, four Skidmore players reached double-digit dig totals: Sam Friedman (20), Carolyn Bottelier (18), Vershbow (15) and Mendelsohn (14). Both Elise Finnerty and Corinne Palmer put up a big block on the front row, as each ended the match with four block assists.

These matches served as New Paltz's final primer before the 2011 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Volleyball Championship Tournament, which will occur from Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 3-5, at SUNY Cortland. The Hawks, who have the East Division's No. 2 seed, square off with SUNY Geneseo, the West Division's No. 3 seed, in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 6 p.m.