Sage Box Score
Philadelphia Biblical Box Score

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – Sixth-year State University of New York at New Paltz head men's volleyball coach Radu Petrus earned his 100th career victory in the 15th-ranked Hawks' 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-11) win over The Sage Colleges (2-3) in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon at the Hawk Center. New Paltz (7-1) followed that win up with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-19) sweep in the nightcap against Philadelphia Biblical University, which was also a non-conference contest.

Petrus pushed his career record to 101-75, and he becomes just the third Hawk men's volleyball coach to achieve 100 wins. Bill Odeneal recorded a 204-143 mark from 1967-87, while current assistant coach Tony Bonilla went 197-150 from 1988-95 and 1997-2000 when he was the program's bench boss.

New Paltz's match against Sage proved to be lopsided after the first set, as the Gators hit at a -.068 clip for the match, while the Hawks forged a .366 hitting percentage. New Paltz floored six total blocks to Sage's three, but the Hawks struggled off the serve, committing 14 service errors.

Sage led by three (16-13) midway through the first set, but the Hawks mounted a rally, as two Gator miscues cut the margin to one. A New Paltz attack error put the cushion back at two in favor of Sage, but a kill by sophomore middle blocker Dylan Rabidoux (Rochester, N.Y./Spencerport) and an attack error by the Gators knotted the score at 17-all. Both squads continued to trade points, and New Paltz gained its first lead since the early stages of the first set when a kill by senior opposite Mike Van Tyne (Rochester, N.Y./Rush-Henrietta) gave the Hawks a 22-21 edge. New Paltz scored three more unanswered points off Sage attack errors, and the Hawks were able to edge out the Gators in set one.

Neither of the other two sets had the drama of the first stanza, as New Paltz hit .500 in the second set and .450 in the third set to cruise to 25-19 and 25-11 wins, respectively.

Van Tyne led the Hawk attack with a match-high 14 kills and fashioned a .417 hitting percentage, while senior middle blocker Kevin Stross (Port Washington, N.Y./Paul D. Schreiber) joined him in double-digit kill figures with 10. Sophomore setter Misa Garo (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Hayes) helped out on both ends of the floor, posting game-highs in assists (35) and digs (6). The blocking tandem of Van Tyne and Stross accounted for three total blocks.

For Sage, Spencer Hilland led the way with nine kills, while Kyle Ray distributed 18 assists. Defensively, Cory Gransbury keyed the back row with five digs.

The Hawks' match against Philadelphia Biblical was close throughout, as the Crimson Eagles appeared to have the momentum for most of the match. New Paltz hit at a .330 clip, while Philadelphia Biblical put together a .212 hitting percentage. The Hawks held a slight edge in blocks (7.0-5.0), but the Crimson Eagles came up with 32 digs to New Paltz's 30.

New Paltz gained some separation in the first set by scoring four straight points to build a 13-10 lead, which forced Philadelphia Biblical to use a timeout. The Crimson Eagles clawed back by tying the score at 13-all, but the Hawks were able to once again able to go up by three, as Garo landed a kill to swell the New Paltz advantage to three at 17-14. Both sides fought back and forth before a kill by Noah Prickett and a Hawk attack error tied the tally at 22-all. New Paltz regrouped after a timeout, and two unforced errors put the Crimson Eagles on the ropes with set point at stake. Philadelphia Biblical drew within one with a Prickett kill, but Van Tyne ended the frame with a kill off a Garo set, giving New Paltz the 25-23 victory in set one.

Neither side was able to lead by more than two in the second set until a ball-handling error by Chase Brunner gave the Hawks a 15-12 lead. New Paltz continued to extend the advantage, and the set appeared well in hand after Stross pushed the lead to six at 23-17. The Crimson Eagles continued to fight, though, scoring five straight points to pull within one. New Paltz took a timeout to halt the momentum, and Van Tyne slammed down another kill to make the score 24-22. Stephen Hirsch prompted the Hawks to take their second timeout with a kill, and Stross propelled New Paltz to a victory in set two with a kill off a Garo set.

The contest appeared to be headed toward a fourth set, as the Crimson Eagles dominated the front end of the third stanza. Philadelphia Biblical held its largest edge of the afternoon after a Hawk service error swelled the Crimson Eagle lead to six at 12-6, but New Paltz came charging back, as it chipped away at the advantage until a Van Tyne kill tied the score at 15-all. The Hawks seized control of the momentum from that point forward, and New Paltz scored seven of the match's final nine points to emerge with a 25-19 triumph in the third game.

Van Tyne ignited the Hawk offense with a match-high 20 kills and a .471 hitting percentage, while Stross hit at a .526 clip, corralling 10 kills in 19 total attempts with no attack errors. Garo doled out a match-high 32 assists, while sophomore outside hitter Victor Tuminelli (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills West) collected a team-high six digs. Rabidoux controlled play at the net with three block assists, and Stross floored two service aces.

For Philadelphia Biblical, Prickett and Josh Tuttle paced the attack with 12 and 10 kills, respectively, and Chase Brunner dished out 27 assists. Hirsch fortified the defense with eight digs, while Brunner and Prickett each added seven. Ethan Mawhinney caused problems for Hawk hitters around the net, as he finished with three block assists.

New Paltz resumes United Volleyball Conference (UVC) play from Saturday, Feb. 11, through Sunday, Feb. 12, as it competes at the season's first UVC Crossover at the Stevens Institute of Technology.