Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Union, NJ – Win number 400 was a memorable one for the State University of New York at New Paltz women's volleyball head coach Matt Giufre. The Hawks dropped the opening set 25-10 to Albion College, but they battled back to a five-set win, 10-25, 25-16, 26-24, 17-25, 15-12.
 
"After we got some nerves out in set one we did a great job as a young team showing the poise and toughness of a veteran team," said Giufre.
 
SUNY New Paltz followed up the dramatic win by dropping a heart-breaking five-set loss to Kean University, 23-25, 26-28, 25-23, 25-22, 15-12.
 
In the opening match senior Maddie Zwickl led a balanced offense for the Hawks as the top four kill leaders notched 11, 10, 9, and 8 kills. Freshmen Emma Hines led the way with 11 kills, while senior Veronica Matedero led the defense with 28 digs.
 
The Hawks bounced back in a big way after a disappointing first set and toppled the Britons of Albion 25-16. The set was tied at 15, but Matedero ran six straight points behind the serving line followed up by Caleigh Carr serving out the set.
 
The third set was a roller coaster as the Britons got right back into the match jumping out to a 4-0 lead. However, the Hawks weren't going to back down, as they slowly battled their way back to knot it up at 17-17. Carr then went on another serving run in the next rotation and put SUNY New Paltz up 22-18. Albion's Monica Shuk answered right back going on a run of her own to give the Britons a chance to steal the third set, up 24-23. Taylor Cimillo stepped up for the Hawks and put down a kill tying the match at 24, allowing Kerri Neville to serve the final two points of the set.
 
The fourth set started out back and forth until Albion was down 10-11 and went on a six-point run. The Britons never looked back and forced a deciding fifth set.
 
The final set started out close, but when Maddie Zwickl stepped up to serve at 6-5 the Hawks hit their stride and went up 11-5 in a set to 15 points. The lead was too much for the Britons to overcome and the Hawks clinched the win and in doing so, secured Giufre's 400^th career win.
 
The second match of the day was just as close, but ended in disappointment for SUNY New Paltz after losing a two set to none lead.
 
The first set was tight all the way with no lead bigger than four points, but the Hawks hung on after back-to-back kills from Demi Herasme and Maddie Van Pelt sealed the first set for the Hawks.
 
The next set almost slipped away from SUNY New Paltz's grasp after letting a 24-20 lead disappear. However, the young team showed its mental toughness by being able to fight back to a 28-26 win.
 
Unfortunately, the Hawks run ended there, as they were unable to pick up another set, losing the final three sets 25-23, 25-22, and 15-12.
 
Outside hitters Taylor Cimillo and Maddie Van Pelt put forth great games offensively tallying 20 and 19 kills, respectively. Maddie Zwickl once again distributed the ball well for the Hawks putting up an impressive 54 assists for the match. Meredith Dignan led the way on the defensive end with 14 digs.
 
"Both teams we played tonight are very strong and I am proud of the effort and character we showed," said Giufre. "If we learn and grow from these opportunities we have a bright season ahead of us."
 
After two long and difficult matches for SUNY New Paltz it gets right back at it tomorrow, facing Nebraska Wesleyan University at 12:00 p.m. and New York University at 2:00 p.m.