Box Score

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The No. 2-ranked State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team continues to remain undefeated against Division III opponents as the Hawks pulled out a 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-17) sweep over No. 1-ranked Springfield College on Wednesday evening in the Hawk Center.
 
With the win, the Hawks improve to 20-2 overall and return to the court on Saturday, March 12 when they host United Volleyball Conference (UVC) foe the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in a 1 p.m. contest. Springfield falls to 21-2 and returns home to host a tri-match with Daniel Webster College and Sage College on Saturday, March 26.
 
New Paltz averaged a .373 clip (43-15-75) and held a 5-2 edge in service aces. Springfield concluded the match hitting .262 (28-11-65) while holding a 9-2 advantage in total blocks.
 
Junior opposite Joe Norman (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) led the offensive, hitting .429 (13-4-21) on 13 kills while sophomore outside hitter Anthony Bonilla (New Paltz, N.Y./New Paltz) floored 10 kills to hit .375 (10-4-16) for the match. Senior setter Christian Smith (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) dished out 34 assists and senior outside hitter Andy Fishman (Cornwallville, N.Y./Cairo-Durham) defended five digs.
 
For the Pride, junior outside hitter Luis Vega tallied nine kills and four digs to lead the team while junior right side Trevor Mattson chipped in six kills. Junior setter Luis Garcia Rubio doled out 20 assists in the loss. Senior middle blocker Julian Welsch-White collected eight blocks for the Pride (two solo, six assists).
 
In the opening set, the Hawks ran ahead with a 9-5 lead but three-straight points by the Pride sliced the score to one. New Paltz took advantage of a Springfield service error to remain ahead before two more points by the Pride tied the score to 10-all. The teams traded points throughout the rest of the set, leveling the tally to 23-all until Norman and junior middle blocker Steven Woessner (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) each floored a kill to give New Paltz the set win.
 
Springfield took a small 3-1 lead in the second frame but the Hawks took control on a Woessner service ace and a kill by Norman. A back-and-forth battle ensued for the advantage but it would land in New Paltz's favor as Bonilla floored a pair of kills to put the Hawks ahead, 14-12, and force a Springfield timeout. Coming out of the break, New Paltz pushed a 4-2 run for an 18-14 cushion and continued to build its lead until the Pride cut the score down to 23-21. The Hawks took a brief timeout to regroup but would take the set on a kill by Bonilla and a Springfield attack error.
 
Senior middle blocker Christopher Husmann (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) landed a pair of kills to help put the Hawks up, 5-2 in the final set. The Pride tied the score to 8-all on a 6-3 surge but New Paltz responded with seven-straight points to increase the gap to 15-8. Although Springfield fought hard to trim the deficit, the Pride would only cut the score to 24-17 before Husmann delivered the kill that capped off the match and handed New Paltz its 18th-straight victory.