Box Score

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – In its 2012 home finale, the State University of New York at New Paltz women's volleyball team (27-7) had its hands full against cross-river rival Vassar College (18-10), as the Hawks edged the Brewers, 3-2 (25-23, 24-26, 30-28, 15-25, 15-6), on Wednesday evening at the Hawk Center. Junior setter Marissa King (Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua Academy) added to the five-set win by eclipsing the program record in single-season assists.

King dished out a match-high 51 assists, which pushed her season total to 1,284. That erases the former program standard of 1,269 that Katie Becofsky set back in 2007.

New Paltz outhit Vassar .186-to-.182 for the match, due largely in part to the Hawks' .600 hitting percentage (10-1-15) in the fifth set. The two squads combined for 207 digs, and New Paltz posted six total blocks to Vassar's five.

The match was tightly contested almost throughout, with the two teams combining for 28 tie scores and 12 lead changes.

New Paltz hopped out to a 15-10 lead in the first set, but Vassar chipped away at the cushion, scoring six of the next eight points to draw within one at 17-16. Each team sided out the other until Vassar took advantage of two Hawk attack errors to capture a 23-22 lead. After a New Paltz time out, the Hawks rattled off three straight points—two of which came from senior middle hitter Dana Vosilla (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa)—to win the first frame, 25-23.

The Hawks held a large lead once again in the second set, with a kill by junior middle hitter Liz Hauser (East Williston, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) marking it a 16-11 score. The Brewers cut into that cushion, and Jessie Ditmore floored a kill to tie the score at 18-all. New Paltz regained the lead and did not surrender a share of it until an attack error gave Vassar set point at 25-24. A setting error by the Hawks ended up giving the Brewers a 26-24 victory in set two.

Up 19-14 in the third stanza, New Paltz once again saw a lead slip away, as Vassar eventually went on a 7-0 run to gain a 23-20 advantage. The Hawks showed mettle by scoring two straight points, but Clara Cardillo put the home team on the ropes with a kill, pushing the Brewer lead to 24-22. A service error and a kill by senior right side Eleanor Skovgaard (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford-Sutherland) tied the tally at 24-all, forcing the winning team's score to go past 25. Vassar forced set point four times, with a kill by Taylor Mosley giving the Brewers a 28-27 lead. Vassar was undone by a service error and two attack errors, though, as the Hawks squeaked away with a 30-28 win in the set.

New Paltz cut into a Vassar lead in the fourth set, as the Brewers let a 12-7 advantage turn into a tie score at 12-all. After two straight Vassar points, a King termination drew the Hawks back within one, but that point would be the Hawks' third-to-last in the set. Vassar scored nine straight points before Hilary Koenigs finally served up an error. Vosilla landed a kill before Ditmore forced a deciding set with a termination of her own.

The fifth set was lopsided in the Hawks' favor, as they scored the stanza's first four points and never surrendered the lead. After a .000 hitting percentage (off 10 kills and 10 errors) through four sets of play, freshman outside hitter Becca Borquist (Rhinebeck, N.Y./Rhinebeck) came alive in the deciding frame, landing four kills with no hitting errors.

As is the case with a tightly-contested five-set match, there were plenty of gaudy numbers to go around for both teams.

The victorious Hawks had three players boast double-digit kill totals. Senior outside hitter Michelle Jacobson (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) led the way with 17 kills, while Borquist and Vosilla had 14 and 12, respectively. Borquist led the team defensively with 24 digs, while junior libero Carrie Hack (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) corralled 23. King and sophomore libero Katy Herbst (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) also chipped in with 19 and 11 digs, respectively. Hauser led the squad with three block assists, while King floored three service aces.

For Vassar, Ditmore, Mosley and Chloe McGuire ignited the offense with 18, 15 and 13 kills, respectively. Chloe Hallum kept rallies alive for the Brewers, registering 37 digs, while McGuire (19), Koenigs (19) and Ditmore (16) all had double-digit dig figures as well. Ditmore tied King for the match-high in service aces with three, while Koenigs distributed 50 assists.

New Paltz closes out its regular season at the Skidmore Tournament this weekend, where it will compete against Southern Vermont College (6 p.m.) and Baruch College (8 p.m.) on Friday, Oct. 26, and Union (N.Y.) College (1 p.m.) and Skidmore College (3 p.m.) on Saturday, Oct. 27.