Box Score

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz women's volleyball team stretched its winning streak to 16, as the Hawks downed cross-river rival Vassar College, 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-9), in a non-conference match at Kenyon Hall on Wednesday night.

New Paltz overcame a slow start early, as a 15-13 Vassar lead in the first evaporated into a 17-15 Hawk advantage. From that point forward in the match, the lead changed hands just once more, as New Paltz cruised to a straight-set win.

New Paltz moved to 28-5 overall and competes at the Skidmore Invitational from Friday-Saturday, Nov. 1-2, in its final competition of the regular season. Vassar drops to 18-15 overall and hosts the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and the University of Massachusetts-Boston in a regular-season-ending tri-match on Saturday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.

Vassar controlled the momentum early in the first set, as New Paltz gained its first lead at 7-6 after a ball-handling error by senior setter/defensive specialist Rose Carman. The Brewers ultimately constructed a 15-13 advantage on the strength of a kill by junior hitter Taylor Mosley, but a four-point tear by New Paltz that included two service aces by sophomore outside hitter Becca Borquist (Rhinebeck, N.Y./Rhinebeck) gave the Hawks a 17-15 edge. Vassar scored just three more points in the frame, and the Hawks notched the first-set victory at 25-18.

Borquist's serve helped New Paltz build a large lead early in the second, as she had three straight aces in a five-point run that gave the Hawks an 8-2 advantage. Vassar was unable to get any sort of momentum going the rest of the stanza, and New Paltz posted yet another 25-18 set triumph.

The Hawks continued to apply pressure in the third, hopping out to a 7-1 lead before the Brewers called a timeout. After one more Hawk point, the Brewers stopped the bleeding with two straight points off a kill and a service ace by junior hitter Marie Pitre. New Paltz then rattled off eight straight points to post a 16-3 edge. With the score at 20-9, the Hawks closed the match on a five-point run, and a Borquist termination handed New Paltz the match and a 25-9 set win.

New Paltz was firing on all cylinders on offense, hitting at a .346 clip for the match. Vassar, meanwhile, was limited to a .146 hitting percentage. The Hawks were dominant off the serve with 12 aces, six of which came from Borquist.

Borquist paced a balanced Hawk offense with 10 kills and a .391 hitting percentage, and she also chipped in with five digs. Senior setter Marissa King (Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua Academy) dished out 26 assists, while senior libero Carrie Hack (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) tallied nine digs.

For Vassar, freshman hitter Gabby Miller and Mosley led the attack with eight kills each, while Carman doled out 24 assists. Sophomore libero Chloe Hallum helped out the back row defensively with eight digs.