Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz women's volleyball team locked up the No. 2 seed in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament on Saturday during SUNYAC Pool Play action at the Hawk Center, wrapping up the conference schedule with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-16) Catskill Cup win over SUNY Oneonta and a 3-2 (22-25, 26-28, 25-23, 25-20, 15-12) loss against The College at Brockport.
 
New Paltz moves to 18-9 overall (8-1 SUNYAC) with the results and will face either sixth-seeded SUNY Fredonia or third-seeded SUNY Oswego in the semifinal round of the SUNYAC Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 7. Brockport went undefeated during the SUNYAC schedule and will serve as the tournament's host by virtue of holding the top seed. The Hawks next visit Vassar College on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m.
 
Oneonta moved to 16-11 (6-3 SUNYAC) with its results, while Brockport rose to 28-1 (9-0 SUNYAC).
 
New Paltz's win over Oneonta put two more points in its column in the 2015-16 Catskill Cup standings, as the Hawks currently hold a 7-4 lead. The next Catskill Cup competition will occur at the SUNYAC Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Oct. 31, at SUNY Plattsburgh.
 
New Paltz 3, Oneonta 0
 
The Hawks had little trouble with the Red Dragons during the first match of the day, holding Oneonta to a -.056 hitting percentage. New Paltz also finished with a 7-2 edge in service aces, while both teams boasted seven blocks.
 
The two teams played close in the early goings of the first set, but New Paltz scored three unanswered points on two separate occasions midway through the set, seizing a 15-10 lead. The Hawks continued to keep the Red Dragons at arm's length, and New Paltz closed out the set with three straight points to pull out a 25-17 victory in the frame.
 
Oneonta appeared destined to take set two, jumping out to a 5-1 advantage. The Hawks countered and cashed in on strong serving from junior defensive specialist Anna Paulik (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh), as they went on an 8-0 scoring spree to take a 9-5 lead. The Red Dragons stayed in the set until another strong serving performance—this time from sophomore setter Melannie Aquino (Billerica, Mass./Burlington)—pushed New Paltz out to a 20-10 edge. Oneonta had no answer the rest of the frame, and the Hawks claimed a 25-12 triumph in the second.
 
Several large runs helped New Paltz in the third set, as it scored at least four unanswered points on three different occasions to mount a 24-11 advantage. Oneonta staved off match point five times, however, but a Paulik termination handed the Hawks a 25-16 match-clinching victory in the third.
 
Paulik led a balanced Hawk attack with eight kills, while sophomore setter Maddie Zwickl (Chester, N.Y./Warwick Valley) dished out 26 assists. Aquino finished with three service aces to pace New Paltz from the service line, while junior middle hitter Morgan Roessler (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) and junior libero Rachel Pierson (Middletown, N.Y./Minisink Valley) keyed the Hawks' defensive efforts with four total blocks and 10 digs, respectively.
 
For Oneonta, senior outside hitter Jill Darpino ignited the attack with seven kills, while senior setter Karly Greco issued nine assists. Defensively, senior right side Hannah O'Neil and senior middle hitter Kristen Polan registered five block assists apiece, while senior libero Allyson Coniglione defended 31 digs.
 
Brockport 3, New Paltz 2
 
After winning the first two sets, the Hawks were unable to hold on against the Golden Eagles, as Brockport handed New Paltz its first conference loss since the SUNYAC began a non-divisional schedule in 2013, a streak that had reached 26 consecutive wins including its victory against Oneonta from earlier on in the day.
 
All told, Brockport held the upper hand in nearly every statistical category, hitting .264 for the match compared to New Paltz's .224 hitting percentage while recording 10 aces to the Hawks' six and defending 80 digs to the Hawks' 65. New Paltz was superior at the net defensively, however, boasting an 11-6 advantage in blocks.
 
Undoubtedly the star of the match for the Hawks, Roessler got going early in the first set, accounting for each of the Hawks' first three points to give New Paltz an early 3-1 lead. A see-saw battle of momentum ensued, with both teams trading points and runs. Brockport eventually tied the score at 21-all late in the set, but a Brockport ball-handling error, a Brockport attacking error and a Zwickl ace gave New Paltz a 24-21 edge. After the Golden Eagles sided out, junior right side Katy Braddon (Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua Academy) blasted a kill to give the Hawks a 25-22 victory in the first.
 
Set two featured more of the same from these two evenly-matched opponents, and the Hawks began to make things interesting late by taking a 20-18 lead. Brockport wound up tying the score at 20-all, and the two teams traded points until the Golden Eagles made two unforced errors to hand the Hawks a 23-21 advantage. A kill by junior middle hitter Brittany Tyack (Commack, N.Y./Commack) brought up set point, but the Golden Eagles scored two straight points to tie the score at 24-all. A few points later, New Paltz finally got the two-point separation it needed off back-to-back kills by Braddon and Roessler to claim a 28-26 victory in the second.
 
Brockport showed why it had just one loss all season beginning in the third set, as it turned a 22-21 New Paltz lead into a 24-22 edge of its own. Senior outside hitter Becca Borquist (Rhinebeck, N.Y./Rhinebeck) drew the Hawks within one with set point on the line, but junior outside hitter Sam Holdredge gave the Golden Eagles a 25-23 triumph in the third with a kill to close out the set.
 
New Paltz engineered a 7-5 lead early in the fourth, but a 5-0 Brockport tear staked the Golden Eagles to a 10-7 advantage. After back-and-forth play, Brockport opened up a 17-11 lead following a 4-0 run, which gave the Golden Eagles the room they need to post a 25-20 set win.
 
Brockport started off hot out of the gates in the fifth, building a 6-2 edge to force a New Paltz timeout. The Hawks countered with four unanswered points to knot the tally at 6-all, but Brockport rattled off three consecutive points to take a 9-6 advantage. As had been the case all match, the Hawks came back, and a Borquist ace tied the score once again at 11-all. Brockport scored two straight before Braddon floored down a booming kill, which forced the Golden Eagles to take a timeout to minimize the damage of the momentum swing. Brockport closed out the match with back-to-back kills by senior outside hitter Kayla Barber, nabbing a 15-12 victory in the fifth.
 
Roessler uncorked a career-high 21 kills, hitting .553 (21-0-38) for the match, while Braddon joined her in double figures with 11 kills. Zwickl handed out 52 assists, while Pierson, Paulik and Borquist posted 21, 15 and 14 digs, respectively. Tyack was dominant at the net, finishing with six block assists.
 
For Brockport, Barber's 25 kills led four Golden Eagles in double-digit kill figures, while sophomore setter Noelle Poloncarz distributed 59 assists. Holdredge defended 26 digs to complete a double-double, as she also landed 19 kills.