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NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz women's volleyball team bounced back from a first-set loss against SUNY Cortland in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Pool Play match on Friday at the Hawk Center and eventually prevailed by a 3-1 (21-25, 25-16, 25-14, 25-22) final.
 
The Hawks hit .440 in the second set and .433 in the third set to help bolster a .231 hitting percentage for the match, and they limited the Red Dragons to .139 hitting. New Paltz finished with a 10-6 edge in service aces and an 8-7 cushion in total team blocks as well.
 
New Paltz rises to 17-8 overall (7-0 SUNYAC) with the win and faces two tough matches tomorrow, hosting SUNY Oneonta in a Catskill Cup showdown at 10 a.m. before playing The College at Brockport at 12:30 p.m. in a match that will determine the conference's regular-season champion. Cortland drops to 14-15 (3-4 SUNYAC) with the loss and squares off with SUNY Plattsburgh (10 a.m.) and Buffalo State (3 p.m.) tomorrow.
 
The Hawks appeared in control during the first set, as a service ace by sophomore setter Maddie Zwickl (Chester, N.Y./Warwick Valley) capped off a 6-0 run that gave the home team a 12-3 lead. Cortland battled back, however, and a run of five consecutive points midway through the stanza gave the Red Dragons an 18-17 advantage. Cortland scored three unanswered points twice more during the set and emerged with a 25-21 victory in the first.
 
Both teams traded points in the early goings of the second set, but a 6-0 New Paltz run broke the set open; a kill by senior outside hitter Becca Borquist (Rhinebeck, N.Y./Rhinebeck) gave the Hawks a 20-14 lead. The Red Dragons scored just two more points the rest of the frame, as the Hawks cruised to a 25-16 triumph.
 
New Paltz scored points in bunches during the third stanza, and an 8-2 scoring spree that was capped off with a kill by junior middle hitter Morgan Roessler (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) handed the Hawks a 17-9 edge. Once again, Cortland was unable to score consecutive points the rest of the set, and New Paltz put its opponent on the ropes with a 25-14 set-three win.
 
Cortland held an early lead in the fourth, but a 7-1 Hawk run gave New Paltz an 11-8 cushion. The Red Dragons battled back and seized a 12-11 advantage, but the Hawks scored 10 of the next 11 points to post a 21-13 edge. Cortland fought back and drew within three (22-19) with junior right side Samantha Czeczotka at the service line, but the Hawks staved off the comeback bid by getting enough points down the stretch to win.
 
Three Hawks reached double figures in kills, as junior defensive specialist Anna Paulik (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh), junior right side Katy Braddon (Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua Academy) and Borquist registered 11, 10 and 10, respectively. Zwickl dished out 39 assists, while Paulik completed the double-double with 12 digs. Junior middle hitter Brittany Tyack (Commack, N.Y./Commack) and Braddon keyed the Hawks' front-row defense with five and four block assists, respectively.
 
For Cortland, sophomore outside hitter Janine Patora and sophomore middle hitter Courtney Silberer each floored 11 kills, while junior setter Liz Roberts distributed 37 assists. Junior libero Melanie McGuirk defended 12 digs, while Roberts added 11 to complete the double-double.