Friday-Saturday, February 14-15, 2014
Springfield Invitational (Hosted by Springfield College)
No. 3 New Paltz (11-1) vs.
No. 1 Rivier (5-0) on Friday, Feb. 14, at 6 p.m.
No. 2 Springfield (9-4) on Friday, Feb. 14, at 8 p.m.
Johnson & Wales (5-2) on Saturday, Feb. 15, at 12:30 p.m.
Bard (3-7) on Saturday, Feb. 15, at 2:30 p.m.
Springfield, Mass. |
| Match Coverage | Live Stats | Live Video (Springfield match only) |
| New Paltz Links | Home Page | Roster | Schedule/Results | Stats |
| Rivier Links | Home Page | Roster | Schedule/Results | Stats |
| Springfield Links | Home Page | Roster | Schedule/Results | Stats |
| Johnson & Wales Links | Home Page | Roster | Schedule/Results | Stats |
| Bard Links | Home Page | Roster | Schedule/Results | Stats |
NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The No. 3 State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team will head to Springfield, Mass., this weekend to compete at the Springfield Invitational. On Friday, Feb. 14, the Hawks will battle No. 1 Rivier University at 6 p.m. and then host and second-ranked Springfield College at 8 p.m... On the following day, the Hawks have matches against Johnson & Wales University (at 12:30 p.m.) and Bard College (at 2:30 p.m.).
RECORDS: The Hawks have an overall record of 11-1, while Rivier is 5-0, Springfield is 9-4, Johnson & Wales is 5-2 and Bard is 3-7.
SCOUTING THE HAWKS (11-1): New Paltz heads into this weekend ranked No. 3 in the AVCA NCAA Division III Men's Top-15 Coaches Poll... The Hawks have only one loss and are on a four-match win streak... In the Hawks' most recent match, they took on Bard College, sweeping the Raptors, 3-0 (25-16, 25-12, 25-19), in a United Volleyball Conference (UVC) match... Sophomore middle blocker
Christopher Husmann led the Hawks to victory, posting a double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs.
STATISTICAL LEADERS: Sophomore outside hitter
Tim Ferriter leads the team and ranks sixth in the UVC in kills per set (3.67), and he also is top on the team and fourth in the UVC in hitting percentage (.396)… Sophomore setter
Christian Smith dishes out a team-best 7.09 assists per set and ranks eighth in the conference in that statistical category, while senior middle hitter
Dylan Rabidoux leads the team and is second in the UVC in service aces per set with 0.67.
TEAM STATISTICS: New Paltz leads the UVC and NCAA Division III in kills per set (12.76), and the Hawks also lead the UVC in hitting percentage (.315) and assists per set (11.81)… The Hawks rank second in Division III in both hitting percentage and assists per set… New Paltz's defense has reigned supreme this year, too, as it permits an average of 8.48 kills per set and 7.95 assists per set.
SCOUTING THE RAIDERS (5-0): The top-ranked Raiders defeated the Wentworth Institute of Technology, 3-1 (25-19, 25-23, 18-25, 25-19), on Wednesday in their Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opener... It marked Rivier's 35th straight win in the GNAC... Junior outside hitter Chris Markuson led the attack with 15 kills and a .636 hitting percentage... Senior middle hitter Aaron Almario added 11 kills and a .625 hitting percentage... Freshman setter Tyler Blank added 42 assists, while senior libero Matt Bynon had 11 digs.
STATISTICAL LEADERS: Almario is Division III's blocking leader, as he averages 1.16 blocks per set… Almario is also fifth in Division III in hitting percentage (.471), and he averages 2.5 kills per set, too… Junior outside hitter Shane Spellman is tied for second in Division III in aces per set (1.00), while Blank is seventh in Division III in assists per set (10.06)… Bynon leads the team in digs per set (2.56), while Markuson is Rivier's kill leader with 3.19 per set.
TEAM STATISTICS: Rivier is the second-best team in Division III from the serving line this season, as the Raiders average 3.20 service aces per set… To boot, Rivier owns Division III's fourth-best hitting percentage (.317).
LAST MEETING: On Jan. 27, 2013, the Hawks swept then-No. 7 Rivier at the Live Free or Die Invitational, 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-14)... See below for the match recap.
MATCH RECAP:
Jan. 27, 2013
SCOUTING THE PRIDE (9-4): The Pride are currently ranked No. 2 in the nation... In its latest match, Springfield defeated Elms College, 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-15)... The team hit .471 and was led by sophomore outside hitter Luis Vega and junior outside hitter Angel Perez, both of whom collected eight kills... Senior middle blocker Jimmy O'Leary also added seven kills and senior libero Ryan Lilley had five... Junior setter Keaton Pieper and freshman setter Luis Garcia Rubio also helped the offense with 25 and eight assists, respectively.
STATISTICAL LEADERS: Vega leads the Pride with 3.69 kills per set, while Pieper dishes out 9.64 assists per set… O'Leary ranks fifth in Division III in blocks per set (1.27), and he also hits at a team-best .529 clip… Sophomore libero Matthew Peretto leads the team in digs with 2.0 per set.
TEAM STATISTICS: Springfield is among the top 10 in Division III in assists per set (11.27, sixth), blocks per set (2.50, seventh) and hitting percentage (.295, eighth)... The Pride also average 11.89 kills per set, 1.95 service aces per set and 7.73 digs per set.
LAST MEETING: The Hawks last battled then-No. 4 Springfield College last Thursday, Feb. 6, losing, 3-1 (25-22, 20-25, 29-27, 25-23)… See below for the match recap.
MATCH RECAP:
Feb. 6, 2014
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS (5-2): Johnson & Wales is coming off a 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-21) loss against Emmanuel College in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest from Wednesday night... Senior outside hitter Shawn Kennedy and freshman outside hitter Kyle MacKnight both finished with seven kills on the match... Junior setter J.J. Bessette had 24 assists and five digs.
STATISTICAL LEADERS: Junior right side Chris Espinola leads the team in kills per set (3.31), while Bessette leads in assists per set (9.50)... Bessette also leads the team in digs per set (2.04).
TEAM STATISTICS: The Wildcats hit at a .191 clip for the season and average 11.35 kills per set… A strong team from the service line, Johnson & Wales averages 2.12 service aces per set… Defensively, the Wildcats average 7.62 digs per set and 1.73 blocks per set.
LAST MEETING: On March 29, 2013, the Hawks defeated Johnson & Wales, 3-1, at the Vassar Tournament (23-25, 25-21, 25-10, 25-18)... See below for the match recap.
GAME RECAP:
March 29, 2013
SCOUTING THE RAPTORS (3-7): Bard is coming off a 3-0 (25-16, 25-12, 25-19) loss to New Paltz from Wednesday night... In the contest, sophomore outside hitter Jesse Small posted six kills and six digs... Senior setter Henry Kasiske added 17 assists and six digs.
STATISTICAL LEADERS: Senior outside hitter Billy Williams averages 2.70 kills per set to lead the team offensively, while Small hits at a team-best .180 clip… Kasiske doles out 7.08 assists per set, while Kasiske is among the UVC's best servers with 0.51 service aces per set and is the team's best back-row defender with 2.11 digs per set... Sophomore middle blocker Alex Adams averages 0.81 blocks per set.
TEAM STATISTICS: Bard averages 9.1 kills per set and has hit at a .123 clip so far this season… Defensively, the Raptors average 10.1 digs per set and 1.4 blocks per set.
LAST MEETING: Bard was swept, 3-0 (25-16, 25-12, 25-19), by the Hawks on Wednesday... See below for the match recap.
MATCH RECAP:
Feb. 12, 2014
WHAT'S NEXT: New Paltz next squares off with the Stevens Institute of Technology at the Hawk Center on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m. in a UVC match… Rivier next contests Emmanuel on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 8 p.m… Springfield finds itself pitted against UC Santa Cruz next on Friday, Feb. 21, at 8 p.m… Johnson & Wales next faces Anna Maria College on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m… Bard next matches up with New York University on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m.
COACHES: New Paltz is led by eighth-year head coach
Radu Petrus...Rivier is directed by 18th-year head coach Craig Kolek... Springfield is mentored by 16th-year head coach Charlie Sullivan... Johnson & Wales is led by sixth-year head coach Scott Reslow, while Bard is coached by first-year head coach Stefanie Carrington.
