NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The No. 3 State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team will host No. 10 Baruch College on Wednesday, April 1 at 7 p.m. at the Hawk Center.
RECORDS: New Paltz is 21-3 overall… The Bearcats are 18-6 overall.
SCOUTING THE HAWKS (21-3): The Hawks are off a recent pair of United Volleyball Conference (UVC) wins from the recent weekend against Elmira College (3-0) and Bard College (3-0)… This extended the New Paltz match win streak to 15… In the match against Elmira, freshman outside hitter
Anthony Bonilla claimed a match-high six kills and six digs… Junior outside hitter
Andy Fishman, sophomore middle blocker
Steven Woessner, senior setter
John Lutjen, and junior middle blocker
Christopher Husmann each had five kills in the match… Junior setter
Christian Smith led the way for the Hawks in assists by recording a match-high 11 in total… Lutjen and senior defensive specialist
Misa Garo combined for 12 assists in the match… As a team, New Paltz hit .355 for the match and held Elmira to a negative hitting percentage (-.057)… Junior libero
Kevin Nardone led the Hawks on the defensive end with a match-high seven digs… In the second conference match on the day against Bard, the Hawks increased their hitting percentage to .603 while also recording 10 service aces… Freshman setter
Mitchell Kennedy led the way for the Hawks with a .889 hitting percentage, eight kills, five digs, three aces, and three blocks… Freshman middle blocker
Nick Denoncourt went perfect on attack attempts (6-of-6)… Junior defensive specialist
Chris Lilley recorded four kills, while sophomore libero Steven Gassert had a match-high seven digs… Husmann leads all UVC and Division III players in hitting percentage (.515)… In the previous match against Baruch College last season, the Hawks recorded a .327 hitting percentage and were led by setters Lutjen and Smith who dished out 18 assists each.
STATISTICAL LEADERS:Kills: Husmann (2.75 per set), Bonilla (2.64 per set), Smith (2.42 per set)
Hitting Percentage: Husmann (.515), Woessner (.336), Smith (.332)
Assists: Smith (5.72 per set), Lutjen (5.34 per set), Kennedy (4.81 per set)
Service Aces: Woessner (.41 per set), Fishman (.32 per set), Bonilla (.29 per set)
Digs: Nardone (2.39 per set), Bonilla (1.44 per set), Smith (1.38 per set)
Blocks: Woessner (.74 per set), Husmann (.73 per set), Smith (.68)
TEAM STATISTICS: New Paltz leads the UVC in hitting percentage (.336), assists (12.49 per set) and kills (13.37 per set)… The Hawks are currently second in the UVC with averaging 2.00 per set... New Paltz is also second in the nation for win-loss percentage.
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS (18-6, 14-1): The Bearcats are coming off a 2-0 weekend in City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) play against York College (W, 3-0) and John Jay College of Criminal Justice (W, 3-0)… In the match against York, Jacob Rudin led the Bearcats with a .667 hitting percentage… Middle blocker Chris Kaimis hit .400 on the day… Outside hitter Brady Ambro recorded 11 digs in the win… As a team, Baruch came away with 35 total kills in the match… Previous to the weekend, the Bearcats took on Springfield College and took an 0-3 loss… Senior outside hitter Nick Smith led the team with 14 kills and middle blocker Chris Kaimis added eight kills and a .500 hitting percentage… Junior setter Scott Standring dished out 30 assists and claimed a team-high seven digs in the loss… Kaimis is ranked second in the CUNYAC for hitting percentage (.368).
STATISTICAL LEADERS: Kills: Smith (3.04 per set), Ambro (2.53 per set), Kaimis (2.35 per set)
Hitting Percentage: Kaimis (.368), Smith (.268), Ambro (2.15)
Assists: Standring (8.93 per set), Brian Coniglo (7.44 per set)
Service Aces: Standring (.56 per set), Smith (.39 per set), Kaimis (.31 per set)
Digs: Higgs (2.32 per set), Standring (1.54 per set), Smith (1.39 per set)
Blocks: Malo Yanni (1.17 per set), Braden Carter (.61 per set), Jacob Rudin (.59 per set)
TEAM STATISTICS: Baruch leads the CUNYAC in hitting percentage (.271), kills (11.33 per set), and assists (10.10 per set)… The Bearcats also led the conference in service aces (2.27 per set).
LAST MEETING: The Hawks defeated the Bearcats 3-0 when these two programs last met on April 1, 2014.
WHAT'S NEXT: The Hawks are going to the Springfield invitational to face host Springfield College, Ramapo College, and Southern Vermont College from April 3-4… The Bearcats are attending the Elmira Tournament from April 3-4.
