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NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The top-ranked and top-seeded State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team defeated fourth seeded and ninth-ranked Nazareth College, 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-21), in the semifinal round of the 2016 United Volleyball Conference (UVC) Tournament on Saturday afternoon in the Hawk Center.
 
With the win, the Hawks improve to 29-2 overall and will face the second seeded and fourth-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology in the championship match tomorrow at 2 p.m. in the Hawk Center. Nazareth concludes its season with a 26-9 overall record and a 5-3 UVC record.
 
New Paltz hit .417 (45-10-84) for the match and held a 5-4 advantage in blocks while limiting the Golden Flyers to a .232 (29-13-69) clip. Both teams concluded the day with three service aces each.
 
Senior middle blocker Christopher Husmann (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) hit .769 (10-0-13) and floored 10 kills and one block assist. Junior middle blocker Steven Woessner (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) also recorded 10 kills and hit .692 (10-1-13) for the match. Sophomore outside hitter Anthony Bonilla (New Paltz, N.Y./New Paltz) and junior middle blocker/opposite Jake Roessler (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) contributed seven kills apiece for the New Paltz offense.
 
Senior setter Christian Smith (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) dished out 36 assists and provided six digs and two blocks (one assist, one solo) for the match. Roessler also defended six digs, while Bonilla and senior outside hitter Andy Fishman (Cornwallville, N.Y./Cairo-Durham) provided three digs each.
 
For the Golden Flyers, senior outside hitter Tim Zyburt led the offensive charge with 10 kills, while senior outside hitter Grant Levermore contributed eight kills. Sophomore setter Jake Kemp dished out 26 assists, while Zyburt and junior libero/outside hitter Tom Keisling defended six digs each.
 
The teams kept the score close in the start of the opening set before New Paltz gained momentum on a Husmann kill and a Bonilla service ace to grab a 6-4 lead. Nazareth trailed until a 4-1 run gave the Golden Flyers a slight 10-9 edge, but the Hawks collected three consecutive points off Nazareth errors to regain the advantage.

After slipping behind, 15-13, two Nazareth attack errors and a pair of kills by Husmann put New Paltz ahead once again, but the Golden Flyers followed up with a kill to tie the score at 17-all. Both teams traded points to level the tally to 21-all before New Paltz pushed a 4-1 burst to close the set with a 25-22 win.
 
Similar to the first set, the teams traded points until a Golden Flyer attack error and a kill by both Roessler and Fishman put the Hawks up, 16-13. However, Nazareth rallied with three consecutive points to even the score. A back-and-forth battle ensued all the way to the end of the set, but New Paltz would jump ahead to 24-21 on a Fishman kill before Woessner floored the set-winning kill to lead, 2-0, heading into the third frame.
 
Despite a close score throughout most of the final set, New Paltz took an 18-15 advantage with three unanswered points and forced the Golden Flyers to take a time out. Coming out of the break, Nazareth tried to catch up to the Hawks, slicing the deficit to 22-21, but would not be able to get further as New Paltz recorded the three points it needed to earn its 28th straight win.