NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – After going 5-0 in the Midwest over spring break, the No. 3 State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team returns to action on Tuesday, March 24 at New Jersey City University for a 7 p.m. non-conference match.
RECORDS: The Hawks are currently riding an 11-match winning streak and are 17-3 overall with a 9-2 away record… The Gothic Knights are 12-8 overall with a 4-2 home record.
SCOUTING THE HAWKS (17-3): The Hawks recently went on a trip to the Midwest and faced five different teams and won each match… During the week, the Hawks defeated three top-15 teams… In their last Midwest match, the Hawks claimed a 3-1 victory over No. 8 Carthage… New Paltz outhit Carthage .303 to .225… Junior outside hitter
Andy Fishman led the way for the Hawks with striking a team-high 16 kills, five digs, two aces, and a .419 hitting percentage… Freshman outside hitter
Anthony Bonilla posted a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs in the match, while junior setter
Christian Smith almost had a triple-double on the evening with 28 assists, 8 kills, and six digs… Sophomore middle blocker
Steven Woessner and junior middle blocker
Christopher Husmann led the way in hitting percentage for the Hawks with .600 and .522… Junior libero
Kevin Nardone recorded a match-high 14 digs on the evening… The last time these two teams met, Smith led the way for the Hawks with a match-high in both assists (25) and service aces (4)… The Hawks also posted a .606 hitting percentage in the match.
STATISTICAL LEADERS:Kills: Husmann (2.78 per set), Bonnilla (2.69 per set), Smith (2.42 per set)
Hitting Percentage: Husmann (.517), Smith (.325), Woessner (.307)
Assists: Smith (5.77 per set),
John Lutjen (5.34 per set),
Mitchell Kennedy (4.17 per set)
Service Aces: Woessner (.38 per set), Bonilla (.33 per set), Fishman (.27 per set)
Digs: Nardone (2.41 per set), Bonilla (1.55 per set), Smith (1.37 per set)
Blocks: Woessner (.75 per set), Husmann (.72 per set), Smith (.62 per set)
TEAM STATISTICS: The Hawks are currently ranked first in the nation in assists (12.56 per set) and kills (13.40 per set)… New Paltz is fourth in Division III in hitting percentage (.317).
SCOUTING THE GOTHIC KNIGHTS (12-8): Last weekend, the Gothic Knights went 1-1 in a tri-match conference meet against Sarah Lawrence College (W, 3-0) and Ramapo College (L, 0-3)… In the tri-match, the Gothic Knights claimed a .558 attack percentage… In the first match, the Gothic Knights posted 33 kills, 11 aces and seven blocks… Freshman outside hitter Tijani Rezki led the way for the Gothic Knights with a .750 hitting percentage, six kills, and five digs… Junior opposite Kendall Tribbett hit a staggering .833 in six attempts with no errors and added two blocks… Freshmen setter Eric Maldanado had 24 assists in the match… As a team, the Gothic Knights had 11 service aces and 21 digs… In the loss against Ramapo, sophomore middle hitter Sheldon Coure posted a .364 hitting percentage and 13 kills… Setter John Leon delivered 16 assists and five kills in the match… The Gothic Knights had a total 36 kills, 34 assists, and 47 digs in the loss… In the previous meeting against the Hawks, Tribbett led the way for NJCU with a .444 hitting percentage… The Gothic Knights only claimed 19 kills in the last match compared to New Paltz's 50.
STATISTICAL LEADERS:Kills: Coure (2.26 per set), Jalen Sorrell (1.74 per set), Nick Poh (1.28 per set)
Hitting Percentage: Coure (.328), Sorrell (.241), Tribbett (.134)
Assists: Maldonado (5.50 per set), Leon (4.95 per set)
Service Aces: Coure (.32 per set), Daque Wilcox (0.33 per set), Tribbett (.17 per set)
Digs: Poh (2.17 per set), A.J. Flores (1.89 per set), Bill Le (1.42 per set)
Blocks: Sorrell (1.08 per set), Tribbett (.93 per set), Coure (.79 per set)
TEAM STATISTICS: The Gothic Knights are currently ranked second in the Skyline Conference for blocks (2.12 per set)… NJCU is also ranked fourth in both kills (9.75 per set) and service aces (1.84 per set).
LAST MEETING: The Hawks defeated the Gothic Knights 3-0 when these two teams last met on April 9, 2014.
WHAT'S NEXT: New Paltz hosts Hunter College on Thursday, March 26 at 7 p.m.…. The Gothic Knights host John Jay College on Thursday at 7 p.m.
