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  POTSDAM, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz women's volleyball team's season moved on Friday afternoon at the first round of the 2012 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Tournament, as the Hawks (33-8) beat Skidmore College (26-8), 3-1 (25-19, 12-25, 25-16, 25-17), at Clarkson University's Alumni Gymnasium. With the victory, New Paltz equaled a program record in single-season wins with 33, matching its 2009 total.

New Paltz hit .230 as a team, which outpaced Skidmore's .214 hitting percentage. Furthermore, the Hawks had nine service aces and six total blocks, which also factored largely into the victory. Skidmore, conversely, had just one service ace and three total blocks.

The Hawks came out hot out of the gates, hitting .353 in the opening stanza to cruise to a 25-19 set win. With the score tied at 9-all, New Paltz rattled off three straight points to go up 12-9. A kill by senior middle hitter Dana Vosilla (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) gave the Hawks that three-point cushion. Skidmore drew within one twice late in the set, but a five-point run that included three kills by freshman outside hitter Becca Borquist (Rhinebeck, N.Y./Rhinebeck) gave the Hawks a 24-18 lead. After a service error ended the streak, sophomore outside hitter Alex Bizub (Linden, N.J./Cranford) floored a kill to put New Paltz up early.

Set two featured a reversal of fortunes, as New Paltz never led. The Hawks drew within one on two occasions—once after a service ace by junior setter Marissa King (Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua Academy) and once off a Skidmore service error—but the Thoroughbreds' .500 hitting percentage compared to the Hawks' -.057 clip ultimately gave Skidmore the lopsided victory in the frame.

New Paltz turned it around in set three, with the Hawks hitting .412 in the game. With Skidmore up, 11-10, the Hawks went on a five-point tear, and back-to-back Thoroughbred attacking errors prompted a Skidmore timeout. The Thoroughbreds drew within six at 22-16, but the Hawks closed the set by scoring three consecutive points. A service ace by junior libero Carrie Hack (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) gave New Paltz the set victory.

As dominant as they were early in the fourth set, the Hawks had trouble closing out Skidmore with match point on the line. New Paltz built up a 24-11 advantage courtesy of 18 kills, but the Thoroughbreds continued to fight off match point. During that span, the Hawks were charged with five attacking errors and a service error, but Vosilla finally sealed the win with a kill.

Borquist paced the Hawk offense with 16 kills, while senior outside hitter Michelle Jacobson (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) compiled 15 terminations. Four New Paltz players had double-digit dig totals: Hack with 16, Jacobson with 14 and Borquist and sophomore libero Katy Herbst (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) with 11 each. Vosilla boasted four total blocks, while Herbst recorded four service aces. In addition, King dished out 46 assists.

For Skidmore, Bottelier and Elise Finnerty keyed the attack by totaling 13 and 11 kills, respectively. Mallory Mendelsohn had 39 assists, while Sam Friedman compiled a match-high 30 digs.

New Paltz advances to the second round—also regarded as the regional semifinals—tomorrow, and it will face No. 17 SUNY Cortland at 3:30 p.m. The regional final will occur at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 11.