Box Score NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The No. 5 State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team (26-5) won its 11th straight match on Wednesday night at the Hawk Center, downing non-conference Ramapo College (19-10) by a 3-0 (26-24, 25-13, 25-18) final. It marked the Hawks' regular-season finale and their final tune-up before the 2013 United Volleyball Conference (UVC) Tournament, which occurs from Saturday-Sunday, April 13-14, at Nazareth College.
New Paltz hit at a .375 clip during the match, flooring 42 kills and 12 errors in 80 total attempts. Ramapo, however, was hurt by .060 hitting. The Hawks held a 7-3 edge in blocks and a 37-21 cushion in digs as well.
The first set featured six tie scores and two lead changes. New Paltz appeared poised to take set one, as it held a 21-19 lead. Ramapo went on to score four of the next five points, though, and a Harsh Prajapati service ace pushed the score to 23-22 in favor of Ramapo and forced a Hawk timeout. Freshman middle blocker
Christopher Husmann (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) and sophomore setter
John Lutjen (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) floored back-to-back kills to bring up set point, but Andrew Balint staved it off with a kill during the ensuing rally. The Hawks put up two straight blocks to come away with the 26-24 win in set one.
From that point forward, the match was never in question, as Ramapo led twice early in the second stanza before succumbing to a pair of four-point tears by New Paltz. The second scoring spree put the Hawks up by five, and they never looked back, holding the lead the rest of the way.
Freshman setter/right side
Christian Smith (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) posted a double-double, flooring 10 kills and dishing out 13 assists. He also hit efficiently, fashioning a .714 (10-0-14) hitting percentage. Senior outside hitter
Bryan Weber (Stony Brook, N.Y./Ward Melville) collected a match-high 10 digs, while Lutjen provided a well-rounded statistical line that included 16 assists, eight digs, six kills and four service aces. Smith finished the night with six total blocks, four of which came in the solo variety.
For Ramapo, Andrew Balint was the sparkplug on offense, landing eight kills, while Harsh Prajapati doled out 21 assists. Prajapati added six digs and two total blocks as well.
New Paltz earned the No. 3 seed in the 2013 UVC Tournament, and it will face sixth-seeded Medaille College in the quarterfinal round on Saturday, April 13, at 12:30 p.m. The winner of the UVC Tournament gains the conference's automatic bid into the 2013 NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Tournament.
