Box Score NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The No. 2 ranked State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team kicked off its seven-game home stand with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-14) win over New Jersey City University on Wednesday evening in the Hawk Center.
The Hawks rise to 15-2 and move on to face No. 15 Juniata College and No. 7 Dominican (Ill.) University in a tri-match on Saturday, March 5. New Paltz will take on Juniata at 1 p.m., followed by a 5 p.m. match against Dominican. The Gothic Knights drop to 10-12 and next play St. Joesph's College (Brooklyn) and host The College of Mount Saint Vincent in a tri-match on Saturday, March 5.
New Paltz hit .434 (32-9-53) for the match while limiting the Gothic Knights to a .204 (22-11-54) clip. The Hawks concluded the night with eight service aces and six total blocks.
Junior middle blocker/opposite
Jake Roessler (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) hit .647 (12-1-17) and tallied 12 kills, two service aces and two block assists. Freshman outside hitter
Eric Tuttle (Rochester, N.Y./West Irondequoit) chipped in seven kills and defended six digs. Sophomore setter
Mitchell Kennedy (Penfield, N.Y./Fairport) dished out 24 assists while sophomore middle blocker
Nick Denoncourt (Rochester, N.Y./Penfield) notched four blocks (two solo, two assists) for the Hawks.
Senior outside hitter Daque Wilcox led the Gothic Knights with seven kills while sophomore middle hitter Jalen Sorrell added five kills. Freshman setter Erick Nascimento and senior opposite Kendall Tribbett doled out 11 assists and 10 assists, respectively. Tribbet and senior outside hitter Sheldon Coure defended three digs apiece.
After a close score, the Gothic Knights took advantage of two New Paltz errors and a service ace to jump out to a 6-3 lead in the opening set. The Gothic Knights extended their lead to 11-7 on a New Paltz service error, forcing the Hawks to call a timeout. The Hawks came out of the break to cut the score to 12-11 on a 4-1 run before a kill by sophomore middle blocker/outside hitter
Ryan Cole (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem East) and a block assist by Roessler and Denoncourt leveled the score to 13-all.
Both teams traded points until a pair of kills by Tuttle and a Denoncourt service ace pushed the Hawks ahead, 24-21. The Gothic Knights managed to secure another point after a brief timeout but New Paltz would take the set, capitalizing on a New Jersey City service error.
Despite the Gothic Knights grabbing an early advantage in the second frame, the Hawks rallied to tie up the score before Roessler floored a kill to push New Paltz ahead, 5-4. Both squads fought for the lead but several New Paltz attack errors vaulted the Gothic Knights to a 14-11 advantage. However the Hawks quickly caught up, tying the score at 14-all before grabbing two more points for a 16-14 edge. Although the Gothic Knights briefly tied the score, the Hawks escaped on a 7-2 spurt to increase their lead to 23-18. Three kills by the Gothic Knights sliced the deficit to 23-21 but Roessler landed the set-winning kill to put the Hawks at a 2-0 advantage heading into the third set.
The Hawks held the Gothic Knights to a -.056 clip in the final frame as New Paltz stormed ahead to a commanding 19-10 lead. The Hawks continued to lead by at least 10 before back-to-back kills by sophomore outside hitter/defensive specialist
Yorman Escobar (Sunnyside, N.Y./Aviation) sealed the match victory for New Paltz.
