Box Score NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – In tennis parlance it's called holding serve; volleyball has long fashioned the term earning a "side-out." But no matter how you phrase it, the No. 1 nationally-ranked State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team kept its top-ranking secure with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-18) United Volleyball Conference (UVC) victory over No. 12 Stevens Institute of Technology on Wednesday night at the Hawk Center.
The Hawks, who earned the nation's top Division III ranking on Tuesday when the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) released its weekly poll, were particularly strong offensively, hitting .326 for the match, highlighted by a .429 (9-3-14) effort from sophomore middle block
Christopher Husmann (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa). Despite the sweep, New Paltz needed its best effort against the Ducks. Stevens used tenacious blocking throughout the match, especially in the second set when the visitors forced New Paltz to erase a 20-15 deficit to earn a 25-22 win.
Not only did the win keep the Hawks clicking on all cylinders, but also avenged a 3-2 (21-25, 25-21, 21-25, 32-30, 15-13) loss against then-No. 6 Stevens in the semifinals of last year's UVC Tournament.
The victory improves New Paltz, which is now riding a nine-match winning streak, to 16-1, 6-0 in the UVC. Stevens drops to 6-4, 4-2 UVC. The Hawks will next host Cairn University on Friday, Feb. 21, at 6 p.m. Stevens next competes at the Baruch Tournament, facing No. 14 Stevenson University on Friday, Feb. 21, at 6 p.m.
The most competitive set of the match was the second. Stevens overcame hitting .111 in the set with strong blocking -- four of its 8.5 team blocks coming in the set. Back-and-forth runs by both squads forced each team to take two timeouts after Stevens went ahead 17-15. Trailing 17-15, the Hawks committed three straight errors to trail 20-15, but fought back into the set. Back-to-back kills from Husmann pushed New Paltz ahead 22-20 and he punctuated a strong set by earning kills on two of New Paltz's next four points to help the Hawks head into the third set up 2-0.
In the final stanza, New Paltz jumped out to a 12-1 lead and cruised to a 25-18 win. The Hawks hit a match-best .360 in the set and capitalized on a .065 stanza from Stevens. The Ducks never found a rhythm in the third set.
The first set was tied only four times and the Hawks took control following a 13-13 stalemate. New Paltz won seven of the following nine points for a 20-15 lead, earning the five-point margin on a quick-hit kill from sophomore setter
Christian Smith (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) and a booming crosscourt kill from reigning AVCA National Player of the Week, sophomore outside hitter
Tim Ferriter (Rochester, N.Y./West Irondequoit).
Ferriter led New Paltz with 11 kills, followed by Husmann's nine and six each from
Christian Smith and his brother,
Brian Smith (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa).
Christian Smith had seven digs and 20 set assists. Junior setter
John Lutjen (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) had 20 set assists.
Stevens was led by nine kills from both freshman outside hitter Gabe Shankweiler and sophomore setter John Eddins, who added 12 set assists to his effort.
