Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The No. 2 ranked State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team went 2-0 as the Hawks opened United Volleyball Conference (UVC) play on Sunday afternoon at Nazareth College. New Paltz defeated the No. 6 Stevens Institute of Technology, 3-2 (25-20, 20-25, 18-25, 17-15) before sweeping No. 4 Nazareth, 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 27-25).

The Hawks rise to 10-2, 2-0 and look for their third conference win when they face UVC foe Bard College on Wednesday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. Stevens drops to 8-3, 1-2 and moves on to host UVC opponent No. 8 New York University on Wednesday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. The Golden Flyers drop to 12-2, 1-1 and head out on the road to compete at the Juniata Tournament from Feb. 19-21.

No. 2 New Paltz 3, No. 6 Stevens 2

The Hawks took care of Stevens in the opening set, jumping out to an early lead and never looking back as New Paltz maintained the advantage throughout the stanza. Stevens managed to cut the score to 21-19 but kills from senior outside hitter Andy Fishman (Cornwallville, N.Y./Cairo-Durham) and junior middle blocker/opposite Jake Roessler (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) pushed the Hawks to 24-19. The Ducks would secure one more point before Roessler closed out the set with the winning kill.

The score was kept close early in the second set with New Paltz holding a 6-5 edge over the Ducks. However Stevens capitalized on three New Paltz attack errors to take the lead, 8-6. The Ducks extended their lead to 10-7 before the Hawks pushed a 4-0 run to jump ahead, 11-10. Both teams began a tug-of-war battle for the advantage with New Paltz inching ahead by one point (17-16) on a kill by Fishman. Stevens retaliated with three straight points to force the Hawks into a timeout. Coming out of the break the Ducks continued their assault, allowing only three scoring chances for New Paltz, before capturing the win on a kill by senior outside hitter Chris Vaughan.

Stevens picked up an 8-4 lead in the start of the third stanza, forcing the Hawks to call an early timeout. Despite cutting the score to 9-6 on kills from Fishman and senior middle blocker Christopher Husmann (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa), the Ducks pushed their lead to 14-9 on a 5-3 run, forcing another New Paltz timeout. The Hawks managed to rope the score to 23-18 but would not be able to go further as a New Paltz attacking error clinched the win for Stevens.

The fourth set saw the Ducks with the lead but New Paltz remained close behind before a pair of kills by sophomore outside hitter Anthony Bonilla (New Paltz, N.Y./New Paltz) tied the score to 14-all. Both teams continued to even out the tally until the Hawks jumped ahead, 19-17, capitalizing on a kill by junior opposite Joe Norman (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) and a Stevens attack error to push the Ducks into a timeout. New Paltz remained ahead but Stevens quickly closed the gap to 22-21 on back-to-back kills by senior outside hitter Tim Ferriter before a kill delivered by junior outside hitter Gabe Shankweiler leveled the score. However, the Hawks could not be stopped as Husmann landed consecutive kills for a 2-2 match.

Both teams were neck-and-neck out of the gates until the Hawks pulled ahead, 10-7. The Ducks bounced back shortly after to cut the score to 11-10 and continued to trail close behind until an attack error by the Hawks tied the set at 13-all. After a brief back-and-forth battle that saw the score even at 15-all, junior middle blocker Steven Woessner (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) landed a service ace to secure the match victory for New Paltz.

New Paltz hit .392 (62-15-120) for the match and tallied six aces. Stevens concluded the match with a .310 clip (68-23-145) and recorded eight total blocks.

Husmann led the offense with 17 kills for a .455 clip. Fishman chipped in with 14 kills while Woessner collected 12 kills, three service aces and three block assists. Roessler added 11 kills to the Hawks' efforts. Senior setter Christian Smith (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapeqa) dished out a career-high 55 assists and recorded three block assists. Senior libero Kevin Nardone (Port Washington, N.Y./Paul D. Schreiber) defended 15 digs for the Hawks.

Vaughan and Ferriter recorded 19 kills and eight digs apiece for the Ducks while Shankweiler chipped in 17 kills. Senior setter John Eddins doled out 48 assists in the loss. 

No. 2 New Paltz 3, No. 4 Nazareth 0

New Paltz quickly took control in the opening stanza, pushing their lead to a 17-11 gap before Nazareth called a timeout to regroup. The Golden Flyers fought hard to decrease the deficit but would fall short as the Hawks capped off the set with a kill by Norman.

Nazareth returned in the second set ready for battle as the Golden Flyers remained on New Paltz's tail until the Hawks were able to shake them off on a 3-1 run for a 10-7 edge. However the Golden Flyers refused to back down and rallied on three-straight points to tie the score. Both teams traded points briefly until Smith dished out a kill and a service ace to put the Hawks at a 17-15 advantage. Nazareth slowly closed the gap but Bonilla and Norman added a kill each to place New Paltz ahead, 23-19. The Golden Flyers were able to put away two more points after calling a timeout, but New Paltz would take the win as Woessner delivered the final kill. 

The Hawks set the pace in the final frame, jumping out to a 9-6 lead but the Golden Flyers managed to even the score on a kill by senior outside hitter Grant Levermore and a pair of New Paltz errors. A service error by both teams once again leveled the playing field but New Paltz would take the reigns as Norman tallied back-to-back kills to push the Hawks to a 13-10 edge. Heavy offensive attacking by New Paltz solidified the Hawks' lead to 21-15, forcing the Golden Flyers into a timeout.

Coming out of the break, Nazareth went on a 6-0 run to even the score at 21-all. The Hawks attempted to take back the lead but took a timeout as Nazareth jumped ahead, 23-22. Both teams traded points until the score settled at 25-all but the Hawks would grab the final two points needed for the match win.

New Paltz hit .481 for the first and second sets to finish the match with a .400 clip (49-13-90) while limiting Nazareth to .253 (35-15-79). The Hawks and the Golden Flyers concluded the match with nine blocks each.

Norman recorded 15 kills with Fishman adding 12 kills. Woessner finished the match with a .846 clip, notching 11 kills, one service ace and five blocks (one block solo, four block assists). Smith collected 41 assists and six digs while Bonilla also defended six digs. 

Levermore led the Golden Flyers with 13 kills while senior outside hitter Tim Zyburt chipped in nine kills and four blocks. Sophomore setter Jake Kemp tallied 29 assists and defended eight digs.