The State University of New York at New Paltz women's volleyball team is looking to get back on track this weekend, playing in the Skidmore College tournament for its last three games of the regular season Oct. 26 and 27.
Coming into the last set of matches before postseason play with a 23-6 record overall, the Hawks will meet with Lasell College, Morrisville State College and Skidmore College throughout the weekend.
"One of the things we're really focusing on right now is, how do we make plays to prevent our opponents from going on a long run," said Hawks head coach Matt Giufre. "We'll keep working on some physical stuff this weekend, but it's almost more of a psychological opportunity." 
SUNY New Paltz finds itself in a bit of a rut as of late, dropping two of its last three games to the regular season State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) champions, SUNY Geneseo, 3-0 (14-25, 14-25, 23-25), and to Vassar College 3-1 (23-25, 19-25, 25-17, 22-25), respectively.
Although the Hawks lost to the Knights last weekend, a 3-1 (25-17, 23-25, 25-16, 25-22) win over Fredonia State (18-9 overall, 6-3 SUNYAC), as well as a win against Plattsburgh State (6-21, 1-8) 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-13), moved SUNY New Paltz to 7-1 in the conference, earning the second seed in the SUNYAC tournament.
The Hawks are familiar with Morrisville State, having played the Mustangs Oct. 13 in the Hudson Valley quad match for a 3-1 (25-23, 25-19, 25-27, 27-25) victory.
"Morrisville was a really good team, and kept rallies going for a very long time," said senior setter Meredith Dignan. "We're just going to have to keep swinging hard and playing aggressively to come out with the win."
Never meeting with Skidmore College in its 2018 campaign, SUNY New Paltz lost to the Thoroughbreds last year, 3-1 (23-25, 25-15, 20-25, 23-25). The Hawks are also unfamiliar with Lasell College, never playing the Lasers in 2017 or 2018.
SUNY New Paltz starts its weekend at 6 p.m Friday, playing Lasell College. The Hawks will return Saturday for a 12 p.m. start against Morrisville State, followed by a matchup at 2:30 p.m. with Skidmore College.
"We've been working on our defense, and it has stepped up these past few games," Dignan said. "Hopefully this weekend we can mesh, so we're ready to go for SUNYACS."
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