Box Score FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Despite being up 2-1 entering the fourth set, the No. 4 ranked State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team fell at Division-I opponent Sacred Heart University 3-2 on Saturday night.
The Hawks move to 3-1 and will host Ramapo in their home opener on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. The Pioneers, meanwhile, move to 2-5 and play at New Jersey Institute of Technology on Thursday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. For Sacred Heart, this is the second time this season going to five sets with a Division-III program, as the Pioneers won 3-2 in their season-opener against Stevens on Jan. 17.
New Paltz hung tough with the Pioneers and gave the Division-I team all they could handle. Freshman outside hitter
Anthony Bonilla (New Paltz, N.Y./New Paltz) finished with a match-high 16 kills (16-4-27) and led the Hawks with a .444 hitting percentage. Bonilla posted a double-double with 10 digs while chipping in four block assists and one ace.
Junior middle blocker
Christopher Husmann (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) tallied 12 kills and four block assists while junior setter
Christian Smith (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) recorded 10 kills, 22 assists, four digs and three block assists. Sophomore middle blocker
Steven Woessner (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) was a force on the net with a match-best eight blocks while notching seven kills.
Junior outside hitter
Andy Fishman (Cornwalville, N.Y./Cairo-Durham) and senior setter
John Lutjen (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) – who transferred from Sacred Heart after his freshman season – both tallied five kills each. Lutjen distributed a team-high 25 assists while junior libero
Kevin Nardone (Port Washington, N.Y./Paul D. Schreiber) registered a match-high 12 digs.
The Hawks won set one 25-20 to claim early momentum. After trailing 6-3, New Paltz responded and took advantage of four-straight attack errors by Sacred Heart to take a 16-12 lead. Following a Pioneer timeout, the Hawks did not surrender the lead and enjoyed the opening-set win.
In set two, New Paltz jumped out to a 6-4 lead after a kill by Bonilla. Sacred Heart recovered and knotted the contest at 11 before a kill by Woessner handed the edge right back to the Hawks, 13-11. The set was tied at 21 when the Pioneers rattled off four unanswered points to close out the second set.
New Paltz went on to dominate the third set, 25-13. The contest was deadlocked at 4-4 when the Hawks tallied four straight points on Fishman serves to claim an 8-4 lead. Three kills apiece by Bonilla and Fishman handed the visitors a commanding 18-9 lead. Once again, Fishman received the serve and New Paltz tallied five consecutive points to take a 23-10 edge. Husmann closed out the second set with a kill as New Paltz stood one win away from the match win.
Sacred Heart responded with a fourth-set win, 27-25. The set was back-and-forth down the stretch and New Paltz held a 24-23 lead with a chance for match point and the upset victory. But following another Sacred Heart timeout, the Pioneers tied the set at 24. Once again, the Hawks had a chance to win with the score 25-24 but a pair of attacking errors and a bad set handed the win to the Pioneers. In the fifth and deciding set, New Paltz held a 5-3 edge following a Bonilla kill. After a 9-9 tie, the Pioneers went on a 6-2 run to close out the match.
