NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The No. 4 State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team will travel to Union, N.J., on Saturday, Feb. 1, to play in tri-match against No. 14 Kean University at 12 p.m. and Lancaster Bible College at 2 p.m.
RECORDS: New Paltz has an undefeated record at 5-0, while Kean has an overall record of 1-3… Lancaster Bible College is 0-4.
SCOUTING THE HAWKS (5-0): New Paltz is off to a strong start this season after holding high preseason expectations… The Hawks won the team title at Ramapo College's Roadrunner Invitational from Saturday-Sunday, Jan. 25-26, after defeating No. 11 Stevenson University, 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-15), and Ramapo, 3-0 (25-21,25-22,25-22) during Sunday's matches... New Paltz posted straight-set wins against Brooklyn College and The City College of New York on Saturday… Sophomore outside hitter
Tim Ferriter, junior setter
John Lutjen and senior outside hitter
Brian Smith were all named to the All-Tournament Team... Following the invitational, New Paltz traveled to Vassar College on Wednesday, Jan. 29, for its United Volleyball Conference (UVC) opener, edging the host Brewers in a close match, 3-2 (21-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-16, 15-13)... Ferriter posted a double-double with 19 kills and 13 digs, while freshman middle blocker
Steven Woessner paced the team defensively on the front row with eight total blocks… Sophomore setter
Christian Smith finished with 40 assists.
STATISTICAL LEADERS: Ferriter leads the team and is second in the UVC in kills per set (4.00), and he leads the team and ranks fourth in the UVC in hitting percentage (.429)…
Christian Smith paces the team in assists per set (7.13), while senior libero
Victor Tuminelli averages a team-best 2.29 digs per set… Junior outside hitter
Gus Gregory, who has played in just three sets, leads the team and is second in the conference in service aces per set (1.00).
TEAM STATISTICS: New Paltz ranks second in the UVC in kills per set (13.71), hitting percentage (.343) and assists per set (12.65)… The Hawks have been strong on defense, too, limiting their opponents to the fourth-lowest hitting percentage in the UVC (.144).
SCOUTING THE COUGARS (1-3): Kean University is coming into the tri-match after a 1-2 showing at the Juniata Invitational from Friday-Saturday, Jan. 24-25... On Friday, Kean downed Hunter College, 3-1 (25-19, 25-18, 19-25, 25-19), and on Saturday, the Cougars were defeated by No. 14 Elmira College, 3-2 (22-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-21, 15-11), before falling to host and third-ranked Juniata, 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-20)... In the Hunter match, junior outside hitter Bez Arslani led the way with 22 kills and a .514 hitting percentage, while junior setter Ron Dunn dished out 52 assists… Arslani was back at it again versus Elmira, pounding out 21 kills, while senior libero Michael Fox picked up 18 digs against the Soaring Eagles… Dunn managed three service aces in Saturday's nightcap against Juniata.
STATISTICAL LEADERS: Dunn leads Kean and the Skyline Conference in assists per set (9.60), while Arslani boasts a team-best kills-per-set average of 3.87 and ranks second in the Skyline in the statistical category…. Junior middle blocker Kyle Farley hits at a team-best .375 clip, which ranks second in the conference… Farley and sophomore middle blocker Tommy Rosario pace the Cougars' front row defensively with 1.33 and 1.20 blocks per set, respectively.
TEAM STATISTICS: Kean is second in the Skyline Conference with a .240 hitting percentage, and the Cougars lead the Skyline in kills per set (11.60) and assists per set (11.13)… The Cougars' blocking has been head and shoulders better than the rest of the Skyline this year so far, with a 3.03 per-set average in total blocks.
LAST MEETING: This will be the first time that New Paltz and Kean will square off in men's volleyball.
SCOUTING THE CHARGERS (0-4): The Chargers are currently winless coming into this Saturday... On Wednesday, Jan. 29, the Chargers received their latest loss, which came against Penn State-Altoona by a 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-12) score on the road... Despite the loss, Lancaster Bible played one of its best offensive matches this season... The Chargers posted a season-high 32 kills, including 10 each from senior outside hitter Mitch Demko, senior outside hitter Alex Bahn and junior middle blocker Ken Diller... Junior setter Tyler Eckels also added 26 assists and six digs for the Chargers.
STATISTICAL LEADERS: Bahn ignites the attack with 2.75 kills per set, while Diller has fashioned a strong .340 hitting percentage for the season… Eckels is the team's primary setter—averaging 6.75 assists per set—and Bahn leads the back row defensively with 2.00 digs per set.
TEAM STATISTICS: Lancaster Bible hits just over .000 for the year with a .027 hitting percentage, and the Chargers average 8.25 kills per set, 7.08 assists per set and 0.58 service aces per set.
LAST MEETINGS: New Paltz last met Lancaster Bible College during the Vassar Tournament on March 31, 2012... The Hawks swept the Chargers, 3-0 (25-13, 25-23, 25-23)... See below for a match recap.
MATCH RECAP:
March 31, 2012
WHAT'S NEXT: New Paltz has its home-opening match against top-ranked Springfield College on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at 6 p.m... Kean will travel to New York University on Tuesday Feb. 4, and Lancaster Bible will host Eastern Mennonite University on the same day.
COACHES: New Paltz is led by eighth-year head coach
Radu Petrus... Kean is directed by first-year head coach Charlie Ginex, and Lancaster Bible College is mentored by first-year head coach Jade Brubaker.
