Box Score

NEW YORK – The No. 7 State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team (12-4, 5-2 UVC) picked up a key United Volleyball Conference (UVC) win on Tuesday night at the Coles Sports Center, as the Hawks pinned a 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 26-24) setback on No. 8 New York University (7-4, 5-2 UVC).

New Paltz hit at a .287 clip for the match and had just 10 service errors to NYU's 16. The Violets posted seven total blocks to the Hawks' four, but New Paltz boasted a 27-24 edge in digs.

The two sides battled back and forth for the beginning of the first set, but New Paltz wound up taking a 14-11 lead after a kill by freshman middle blocker Christopher Husmann (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa). The Hawks would swell the advantage to five at 20-15, but four straight NYU points drew the host Violets within one. The two teams traded kills until the Hawks rattled off three straight points to put NYU on the ropes at 24-20. Nick Capriccio floored a kill for NYU before freshman outside hitter Tim Ferriter (Rochester, N.Y./West Irondequiot) slammed down the set point on the ensuing rally.

New Paltz never trailed in the second set, but NYU made it interesting midway through the frame. Three Hawk attacking errors drew the Violets within one at 14-13, but New Paltz rallied back by scoring three of the next four points to gain a 17-14 advantage. NYU came within two points of the Hawks at 22-20, but New Paltz benefited from a Husmann kill and two Violet attacking errors to win the second set, 25-20.

A comeback in the third set helped the Hawks complete the sweep. NYU held a 19-15 cushion, but New Paltz scored four of the next five points to pull within one at 20-19. The two sides traded points until a Husmann kill and a Violet attacking error knotted the tally at 22-all. Once again, each team registered side out after side out, and NYU brought up set point after a Hawk service error. Following a New Paltz timeout, the Violets fired a miscue on a serve to tie the score at 24-all, and senior outside hitter Bryan Weber (Stony Brook, N.Y./Ward Melville) forced match point with a kill. NYU misfired on an attack to give the Hawks the third set, 26-24.

Husmann paced the New Paltz attack by flooring 13 kills and registering a .550 hitting percentage, while Ferriter added 10 kills. Freshman setter/right side Christian Smith (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) was the architect for the offense most of the match, dishing out 22 assists, while freshman libero/setter Kevin Nardone (Port Washington, N.Y./Paul D. Schreiber) came up with nine digs.

For NYU, Nick Benson tallied a match-high 14 terminations, while Connor Mortland handed out a match-high 30 assists. Mortland and Capriccio each added three block assists to reinforce the front row on defense.

New Paltz visits Langhorne, Pa., on Saturday, March 2, for a tri-match. The Hawks take on Eastern Mennonite University at 2 p.m. before squaring off with host Cairn University at 4 p.m.