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ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The No. 15 State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team (20-11) pulled off two upsets during the first day of the 2011 United Volleyball Conference (UVC) Tournament Saturday at Kidera Gymnasium on the campus of Nazareth College as the No. 7 seed, knocking off second-seeded Medaille College (21-5), 3-2 (22-25, 27-25, 15-25, 26-24, 15-10), in the quarterfinals before pinning a 3-2 (13-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-16, 15-7) setback on the third-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology (16-11) in the semifinals.

New Paltz has gotten hot at the right time, as the Hawks have won four matches this week, three of which have come against nationally-ranked teams.

The Mavericks, ranked ninth nationally, edged the Hawks in the first set of the quarterfinal, hitting at a .318 clip to take the frame, 25-22. New Paltz captured the second set, 27-25, but Medaille put the Hawks on the ropes in the third with a 25-15 set win. The blue and orange showed mettle in the fourth stanza, winning by a count of 26-24, and the Hawks pulled off the first-round upset with a 15-10 victory in the fifth set.

On the match, Medaille outhit New Paltz by a .262-to-.235 margin and outblocked the Hawks, 12-11. Both teams landed nine service aces.

Junior middle blocker Kevin Stross (Port Washington, N.Y.) led the way offensively for New Paltz, hitting .429 (15 kills and three attack errors in 28 total attempts). Senior outside hitter Keith MacDonald (Monroe Township, N.J.) and junior opposite Mike Van Tyne (Rochester, N.Y.) contributed 13 and 10 kills, respectively, while senior setter Andrew Cassius (Brooklyn, N.Y.) handed out a match-high 47 assists. Van Tyne was strong defensively with eight digs and three block assists, while Stross stymied the Maverick hitters with five block assists. Senior setter/opposite Jakub Chleboun (Prague, Czech Republic) was hit-or-miss off the serve with four service aces and seven service errors.

For Medaille, Trevor Barrett and Erin Kelly had 13 kills each, while Nick Johnson chipped in 12. Ryan Maxwell had a well-rounded performance, leading the Mavericks in assists (42) and digs (7). Kelly boasted five block assists, and Johnson floored four service aces.

Less than two hours later, the Hawks returned to the court and found themselves opposite a Stevens team that cruised past sixth-seeded Elmira College, 3-1, in the opening round.

New Paltz looked off in the first set, hitting -.065 en route to a 25-13 defeat. The Hawks rebounded in the second stanza, however, winning, 25-18, behind a .435 hitting percentage. They struggled to find kills in the third game, as the Ducks built a 2-1 lead off of a 25-21 victory in the set. From there on out, it was all New Paltz, as the seventh-seeded Hawks clobbered Stevens, 25-16, in the fourth set off of a scintillating .583 hitting percentage before winning the fifth stanza, 15-7.

On the match, New Paltz hit .268, while Stevens, ranked at No. 12 in the most recent American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national poll, posted a .252 hitting percentage. The Hawks collected six service aces to the Ducks' four, and the New Paltz defense kept rallies alive with 37 digs. The Stevens front row was slightly superior defensively, outblocking New Paltz, 9.5-7.

Van Tyne's 17 kills ignited the Hawk offense, while Stross (12) and MacDonald (11) also helped out the attack. Stross was especially efficient, hitting at a .571 clip. Cassius distributed 48 assists, while MacDonald boasted a double-double with 11 digs to go along with his 11 kills. On the front row, Stross came up with four block assists.

SteFan PremDas spearheaded the Duck attack with 12 kills, while Jonathan Landis offered 10. Defensively, Aaron Ostrovsky came up with six digs, while Jake Modestow contributed seven total blocks (one block solo, six block assists).

Tomorrow, the Hawks face host Nazareth College, the No. 1 seed, in the championship match at 1 p.m. in Kidera Gymnasium.