Box Score

NEW YORK – Down 2-0 heading into the third set, the State University of New York at New Paltz women's volleyball team (15-3) had a lot of ground to make up against non-conference Baruch College (10-5). The Hawks wound up winning the third, fourth and fifth frames, though, to prevail by a 3-2 final (21-25, 20-25, 25-14, 25-17, 25-12) on Wednesday evening in Manhattan.

New Paltz hit .226 for the match, while Baruch hit .190. The Hawks had four team blocks to the Bearcats' one, and they landed 11 service aces to Baruch's 10.

After leading 10-8 in the first frame, Baruch went on a four-point tear to take a 12-10 lead. New Paltz pulled within one at 22-21 off an attack error by the Bearcats' Jessica Wu, but Baruch responded with three straight points to take the first game.

The Hawks squandered a lead again in the second set, holding an 18-16 edge before Baruch rattled off four consecutive points. Senior middle hitter Dana Vosilla (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) and junior middle hitter Liz Hauser (East Williston, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) each drew New Paltz within one with a kill, but Baruch went on a 4-0 run to close the second stanza, winning, 25-20.

With their backs against the wall, the Hawks thrived in the third set, hitting .265 en route to a 25-14 triumph. The two teams battled until Rebecca Peralta made it an 11-10 score in favor of Baruch. From that point forward, it was all New Paltz, as the Hawks scored 12 straight points to take a 22-11 lead.

The Bearcats wound mount a comeback in the fourth, but efficient serving and hitting in the final few points by New Paltz forced a deciding set. Baruch made a run with the score at 22-13 in favor of New Paltz, and it came within five points with a Hawk attack error. Junior setter Marissa King (Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua Academy) landed a kill followed by a service ace to bring up set point, and senior right side Eleanor Skovgaard (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford-Sutherland) closed out the frame with a kill.

The fifth set featured the tightest clash between the two teams of the evening. Baruch spent the early portions of the game with the lead, and it led 8-7 at the turn. The Bearcats scored two consecutive points to go up by three (10-7), prompting New Paltz to use its final timeout. Kills by senior outside hitter Michelle Jacobson (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) and freshman outside hitter Becca Borquist (Rhinebeck, N.Y./Rhinebeck), followed by a Jacobson service ace, leveled the tally at 10-all. This forced Baruch to use a time out.

Borquist found the court once again with a kill, and a Bearcat attack error led to Baruch burning its final timeout. Sydney Parks pulled the Bearcats back within one with a kill, but Hauser and Skovgaard each registered a kill to produce a match-point situation at 14-11. Wu scored the next point by means of a kill, but Skovgaard ended the match on the following rally.

New Paltz was paced offensively by Vosilla and Borquist, who tallied 14 and 13 kills, respectively. King dished out 45 assists and floored five service aces, while junior libero Carrie Hack (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) and Jacobson led the defense with 18 and 17 digs, respectively. For Baruch, Peralta boasted a match-high 18 kills to go with 12 digs, and Melinda Santiago doled out 42 assists. Santiago was also outstanding defensively, collecting 19 digs.

The Hawks travel to Hamilton College on Saturday, Sept. 29, for a tri-match with Hamilton and Amherst College. They face Amherst at 2 p.m. before squaring off with Hamilton at 4 p.m.