Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The No. 1 ranked State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team defeated No. 9 Elmira College, 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-19), and No. 10 Vassar, 3-2 (22-25, 25-18, 22-25, 25-18, 15-7) in the final United Volleyball Conference (UVC) cross over weekend on Saturday afternoon.
 
With the wins, New Paltz improves to 26-2, 8-0 UVC and next plays Baruch College on Wednesday, March 30 at 7 p.m. Elmira drops to 20-9, 2-6 UVC and will host Juniata College on Monday, March 28 at 6 p.m. Vassar drops to 21-6, 4-4 UVC and moves on to host No. 15 New York University in a 7 p.m. non-conference tilt on Thursday, March 31.

New Paltz 3, Elmira 0 

The Hawks hit .446 (38-9-65) for the match and held a 9-4 advantage in service aces and a 4-2 edge in blocks while limiting Elmira to a .243 clip (33-15-74).
 
Junior opposite Joe Norman (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) hit .875 (7-0-8) on seven kills while junior middle blocker Steven Woessner (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) floored seven hits on nine attempts and one error for a .667 clip and collected three block assists.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Anthony Bonilla (New Paltz, N.Y./New Paltz) and senior libero Kevin Nardone (Port Washington, N.Y./Paul D. Schreiber) provided four digs apiece for the defense. Senior setter Christian Smith (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) dished out 27 assists for the Hawks.
 
Senior outside hitter Erik Griffin floored 17 kills and four digs while freshman setter Adam Dake doled out 18 assists and also provided four digs in Elmira's efforts. 
 
The Hawks came out with a 3-2 advantage in the early set before extending its lead with four unanswered points. New Paltz remained ahead for the rest of the set, sealing the win on an Elmira attack error.
 
Griffin collected four of Elmira's five points in the second frame to place the Soaring Eagles in the lead. Despite New Paltz's efforts, Elmira continued to slip from its grasp until a 4-0 run clipped the score to 15-14. After a brief timeout, two more points by the Soaring Eagles kept them ahead but Norman floored a kill and a service ace to tie the score, 17-all. The teams would trade points before New Paltz claimed the win on a 4-1 run to close the set.
 
The Hawks held an 8-4 advantage in the final frame but the Soaring Eagles rattled off five straight points to move ahead. New Paltz managed to regain the lead but Elmira followed close behind until a kill by senior middle blocker Christopher Husmann (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) and back-to-back service aces by Bonilla pushed the Hawks to a 20-16 margin, forcing Elmira to take a timeout. The Soaring Eagles were able to bring the score to 23-18 before a pair of Norman kills clinched the match for New Paltz.

New Paltz 3, Vassar 2

Despite the host Brewers' grabbing an 11-5 lead, the Hawks capitalized on several Vassar attack errors to push a 10-2 run capped, off by back-to-back kills from junior middle blocker/opposite Jake Roessler (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa), for a 15-13 advantage. The score was leveled to 15-all before the teams began to battle for the lead. New Paltz grabbed three-straight points for a 21-18 edge but Vassar catapulted ahead on a 5-0 spurt. Senior outside hitter Andy Fishman (Cornwallville, N.Y./Cairo-Durham) floored a kill to bring the Hawks within one but Vassar earned the 25-22 win on a pair of kills.
 
New Paltz jumped ahead with the lead from the start of the second set but the Brewers were quick to close the gap, cutting the deficit to 17-15 before a New Paltz attack error and a Smith service ace extended the Hawks' lead. Norman was a force to be reckoned with as the junior floored three kills to give New Paltz the set win and even the match to 1-1.
 
In the third set, Vassar seized an 8-3 edge and never trailed as the Brewers took advantage of many New Paltz errors for a 19-13 margin. New Paltz managed to slice the deficit to 24-22 on a pair of Norman kills but after a Vassar timeout, senior right side Reno Kriz floored the kill to clinch the set.
 
The score remained close in the fourth frame until the Hawks pushed ahead, 10-7, on a Vassar service error and Roessler kill. But the Hawks would surrender their lead as the Brewers capitalized on four attack errors for an 11-10 edge. After New Paltz called a timeout, Woessner notched a kill to tie the score before the Hawks regained the advantage on a 4-1 burst. Despite Vassar's efforts, the Brewers cut the score 22-18 but were unable to go further as New Paltz collected three unanswered points to force the match to a deciding set.
 
The Hawks hit .545 (7-1-11) in the fifth frame, jumping out to a 6-3 lead and never looking back as they easily cruised to a 15-7 win to claim their 25th-straight victory.
 
New Paltz hit .304 (58-20-125) for the overall match while Vassar hit .169 (46-26-118). Both teams drew even in blocks (12) and service aces (six).
 
Smith hit .667 (4-0-6) for the match and dished out 48 assists, three blocks (one solo, two assists) and defended six digs. Fishman notched 14 kills and two service aces while Husmann contributed 11 kills and four block assists. Defensively, Bonilla provided 12 digs while Nardone contributed seven.
 
Sophomore middle hitter Matthew Knigge tallied 13 kills and eight block assists for Vassar while Kriz added 12 kills. Sophomore setter Zechariah Lee doled out 39 assists and junior libero Trey Cimorelli provided 11 digs to lead the defensive charge.