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NEW YORK – The State University of New York at New Paltz women's volleyball team (12-5) split on its final day at New York University's Violet Classic at the Coles Sports Center, beating the Rochester Institute of Technology (7-9), 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-13), before falling, 3-2 (25-14, 14-25, 25-23, 19-25, 10-15), to host NYU (12-1) in the nightcap.

New Paltz finished as runners up to NYU at the event. The Hawks posted a 3-1 record throughout the weekend, while the Violets went 3-0. Senior setter Marissa King (Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua Academy) and sophomore outside hitter Becca Borquist (Rhinebeck, N.Y./Rhinebeck) each earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team; ironically, the pair also claimed spots on the Hawks Invitational All-Tournament Team last weekend.

After hitting .286 in the first set against RIT, the Hawks upped the offensive pressure in sets two in three, posting a .444 hitting percentage in the second set before closing with a .480 hitting percentage in the third. For the match, New Paltz hit at an even .400 clip. RIT, meanwhile, hit .163. The Hawks held a 6-2 edge in blocks.

New Paltz controlled the momentum throughout most of the first set, but RIT hung around close enough to make things interesting in the end. After a kill by freshman outside hitter Rachel Pierson (Middletown, N.Y./Minisink Valley) made the score 24-21 in favor of the Hawks, the Tigers rattled off two straight points off Sarah Szybist terminations to pull within one. Following a New Paltz timeout, Borquist put away the set-clinching kill.

Once again, RIT stayed within striking distance of New Paltz in the second frame, and back-to-back Hawk errors drew the Tigers within two points of the Hawks at 21-19. Borquist then sparked a four-point tear for New Paltz to close out the set.

RIT controlled the third set early, mounting a 7-3 advantage after a service ace by Bethany Davis. A 6-0 New Paltz run prompted an RIT timeout, and after that, the Hawks scored two more points before the Tigers sided them out. At that point, the gap was too large for RIT to overcome, and New Paltz cruised to the straight-set victory.

Borquist and King teamed up to lead the Hawk attack with 12 kills and 30 assists, respectively. King and junior outside hitter Katy Herbst (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) each posted seven digs, while freshman middle hitter Morgan Roessler (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) tallied four block assists.

For RIT, Szybist led the way with 13 kills, while Emma Dowdy handed out 24 assists. Bethany Davis powered the Tiger defense with 13 digs.

Despite outhitting NYU by a .188-to-.174 margin, the Hawks wound up losing a tough five-set match to the Violets. New Paltz also controlled the net defensively with six blocks to NYU's four.

The first two sets ended up getting out of hand, with New Paltz serving as 25-14 winners in the first and with NYU countering with a 25-14 triumph in the second.

Set three featured the first close frame of the match, as the two teams entered the stretch run tied at 19-all. The two sides traded points until New Paltz went on a 3-0 run that included kills from Roessler and Borquist. NYU pulled within one at 23-22 before a ball-handling error by the Violets brought up set point. A Hawk attacking error gave NYU a second chance at completing the comeback, but Borquist floored a termination on the ensuing rally to give New Paltz the victory in the set.

NYU dug itself out of a 7-2 hole in the fourth, and after a 6-0 run, it picked up a 13-10 lead. Despite drawing within one point of NYU midway through the set, the Hawks were unable to reclaim the lead, and the Violets forced a decisive set five.

New Paltz came out fast out of the gates in the fifth, as three Borquist kills helped the Hawks mount a 4-2 lead. NYU stormed back, though, scoring six of the next eight points to hold an 8-6 advantage heading into the turn. The Violets continued to fire on all cylinders, as they eventually constructed a 13-7 edge. Back-to-back kills by Borquist forced an NYU timeout, but Alexandria Mao brought up match point with a kill on the next rally. Borquist kept the Hawks alive on the ensuing rally with a kill, but Katie Robinson delivered the final blow to New Paltz.

Borquist and King each posted double-doubles for the Hawks. Borquist had 20 kills and 18 digs, while King boasted 45 assists and 11 digs. Junior outside hitter Alex Bizub (Linden, N.J./Cranford) was the only other New Paltz hitter to tally a double-digit kill total (10), while Herbst reinforced the back row with 23 digs. Roessler enjoyed another solid match defensively, as she finished with four total blocks.

For NYU, Mao and Allie Williams finished with 14 and 11 kills, respectively, while Emily Moore doled out 44 assists. Cassidy Jourdan nearly joined the 30-dig club with 27 digs, while Mao delivered five service aces.

New Paltz opens up State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action from Friday-Saturday, Sept. 27-28, at The College at Brockport in the first of three SUNYAC Pool Play events. The Hawks face SUNY Plattsburgh at 7 p.m. on Friday before matching up with SUNY Geneseo and SUNY Fredonia at 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively, on Saturday.