Box Score

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The No. 15 State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team (16-11) fell, 3-1 (14-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-23), to No. 8 Baruch College (26-12) on Senior Night at the Hawk Center Thursday evening. It marked the 2011 regular-season home finale for the Hawks, who will be on the road for the remainder of the year.

Prior to the start of the match, the team honored its four seniors: setter Andrew Cassius (Brooklyn, N.Y.), middle blocker Jonathan Van Dyke (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.), outside hitter Keith MacDonald (Monroe Township, N.J.) and setter/opposite Jakub Chleboun (Prague, Czech Republic).

The Hawks dominated the first set, running off four straight points midway through the frame to go up, 15-8. They continued to score points in bunches, and Chleboun landed two consecutive kills to end the set. In the first game, New Paltz hit at an astounding .550 clip, while Baruch had trouble finding the floor, hitting just .000.

The Bearcats made adjustments and claimed the middle two sets thanks in part to utilizing a strong attack and taking advantage of New Paltz's miscues.

The Hawks appeared poised to send the match into a deciding fifth set, as New Paltz jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the fourth. Baruch, however, called a timeout and rattled off two points to make it 9-5 and went on a three-point tear midway through the set to go up, 13-11. Both teams battled back and forth, and a MacDonald kill made the score 21-18 in favor of the Hawks. Baruch scored two consecutive points to come within one and later notched three unanswered points to claim its first lead of the set at 23-22. Pablo Oliveira misfired on a serve to make the tally 23-all, but an Oliveira kill and a MacDonald attack error would give the Bearcats both the set and the match.

MacDonald and junior middle blocker Kevin Stross (Port Washington, N.Y.) keyed the New Paltz offense with 13 and 11 kills, respectively, while Stross hit .500 on the match. Stross and junior opposite Mike Van Tyne (Rochester, N.Y.) reinforced the front row defensively with four block assists each, and Chleboun enjoyed a well-rounded evening that included match-highs in digs (9) and service aces (3). Cassius distributed a team-high 39 assists.

For Baruch, Oliveira recorded a match-high 20 kills and hit a solid .415 on the night. Jesus Echevarria handed out 40 assists, while Vincent Cruz and Nick Smith had three block assists and seven digs, respectively.

New Paltz has the weekend off from competition before squaring off with Philadelphia Biblical University on Tuesday, March 22, at 7 p.m. in Langhorne, Pa.