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ROCHESTER, N.Y. – For the third straight year, the State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team will be playing in the United Volleyball Conference (UVC) Tournament, as the Hawks will visit top-seeded Nazareth College's Kidera Gymnasium for the 2013 edition of the event. The quarterfinal and semifinal matches are slated for Saturday, April 13, while the championship final is set for Sunday, April 14. New Paltz (26-5, 8-3 UVC), which earned the league's No. 3 seed, will face sixth-seeded Medaille College (17-14, 7-4 UVC) in the quarterfinal round on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT: This marks the UVC's third year of existence, and it is the conference's third championship tournament. Eight of the league's 12 teams qualify for the tournament, and seeding is determined based on performance in conference play. The winner of the New Paltz-Medaille match will meet up with the winner of the quarterfinal match between the second-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology and seventh-seeded Elmira College at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday in semifinal action. Should the Hawks make it to the championship match, they will face off with either top-seeded Nazareth, fourth-seeded New York University, fifth-seeded Vassar College or eighth-seeded Penn State Behrend at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The winner of the UVC Tournament gains an automatic berth into the 2013 NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Tournament.

TICKING PRICING: Ticket prices are $5 per session for adults and $3 per session for students.

BEST (UVC) SEED EVER: New Paltz earned its best-ever seed into the UVC Tournament this year after holding the No. 7 seed for two straight seasons. The Hawks went 8-3 in UVC play, with their only losses coming at the hands of Nazareth, Stevens and Medaille. New Paltz has had mixed success in the UVC Tournament, as it advanced to the championship match during the 2011 edition of the event  and was bounced out by Stevens in the quarterfinal round last season. The Hawks are 2-2 all-time at the UVC Tournament and are 1-0 in UVC Tournament play against Medaille.

WINNING STREAK: New Paltz is currently riding an 11-match winning streak, which dates back to March 9 at the second UVC Crossover. During that time, the Hawks have defeated three nationally-ranked teams, including previously-unbeaten Nazareth on March 30 at the Vassar Tournament. New Paltz has won its past five matches in straight sets. The Hawks started their season 8-0, which served as their second-longest winning streak of the season.

YOUTH MOVEMENT: The Hawks field a roster with just one senior, and of their seven regular starters, three are freshmen and one is a sophomore. New Paltz brought in an eight-person freshman class this year, and John Lutjen, a sophomore, transferred in after competing at NCAA Division I Sacred Heart University for one season.

NATIONAL RANKINGS: All throughout the course of the season, the UVC has been prominently featured in the AVCA NCAA Division III Men's Coaches Top-15 Poll, as the league's top seven teams have all earned national rankings at some point this year. Presently, Nazareth is the conference's highest-ranked team at No. 2, while New Paltz (No. 5), Stevens (No. 6), NYU (No. 10), Vassar (No. 11) and Medaille (No. 12) also hold national rankings. Elmira dropped out of the top 15 after a week in which it went 2-2 at the MIT Tournament.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: As a team, New Paltz ranks among the league leaders in nearly every statistical category. The Hawks lead the UVC in assists per set (12.73) and rank second in the league in hitting percentage (.320), opponent hitting percentage (.172) and kills per set (13.64). New Paltz also leads NCAA Division III in assists per set and ranks second nationally in kills per set and third nationally in hitting percentage. Individually, the Hawks rely on a balanced array of personnel. Tim Ferriter, an outside hitter, helps key the offense with 3.25 kills per set. His kill figures rank fourth in the UVC and 22nd in Division III. Christopher Husmann boasts a team-best .440 hitting percentage that ranks fifth in the league, while Dylan Rabidoux averages 0.33 service aces per set—good for ninth in the conference. New Paltz runs a 6-2 offense, with Christian Smith and John Lutjen carrying the majority of the load. Smith averages 5.33 assists per set, while Lutjen averages 4.97 assists per set. Misa Garo also sees time at the setter position, as he averages 4.67 assists per set. Defensively, Victor Tuminelli leads the team in digs per set with 1.78, while Brian O'Connor leads the team in blocks per set with 0.70.

HEAD COACH RADU PETRUS: Petrus is finishing up his seventh season at the helm of the New Paltz men's volleyball program, and he takes a 139-90 career record into the UVC Tournament. He has guided his New Paltz teams to winning records in six of his seven seasons at the controls, and under his direction, the Hawks have made the NECVA Tournament four times, the UVC Tournament three times and the ECAC Tournament once.

SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS: Medaille won the only meeting between these two teams so far this year, as the Mavericks prevailed, 3-2 (25-15, 19-25, 21-25, 27-25, 16-14), on Feb. 10 during the first UVC Crossover at Medaille. During that match, Tim Ferriter led the Hawks with 17 kills and a .414 hitting percentage (17-5-29), while Christian Smith distributed 42 assists. Ferriter paced the front row on defense with eight total blocks, while Victor Tuminelli led the back row defensively with eight digs. Medaille's Erin Kelly (14), Trevor Barrett (11) and David Hill (10) all reached double-digit kill figures, while David Riggsby and Cory Philips split setting duties, dishing out 28 and 19 assists, respectively. Barrett leads the Maverick attack with a team-best 3.54 kills per set, which ranks third in the UVC. Riggsby is Medaille's go-to setter, as he averages 7.36 assists per set. Zack Beattie shores up the back row on defense with a team-leading 2.05 digs per set, while Brandon Kilijanski follows closely behind with 1.97 digs per set. Three Mavericks are all within the same range in blocks per set: Eric Moscato (0.91), Kelly (0.90) and Jordan James (0.89).