New Paltz, NY- Much like it has all year, the State University of New York at New Paltz women's volleyball team bounced back Friday night, beating SUNY Oneonta (7-13 overall, 1-3 SUNYAC) 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-23), in day one of State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) pool play.

With the win, the Hawks move to 16-4 overall, and 4-0 in conference. SUNY New Paltz looks to continue its SUNYAC success with two matches Saturday against Oswego State and SUNY Potsdam.

"We played with a lot of great effort, and played really good defensively to make some changes from that Williams match," said Hawks coach Matt Giufre. "We don't think we played our best, but in conference play sometimes you have to win ugly."

The Hawks played its best set in the first, gaining a quick 5-2 lead off a sophomore middle hitter Demi Herasme kill. SUNY Oneonta tied the set at seven, but a 10-1 run finished by another Herasme kill, put SUNY New Paltz up, 17-8. 

The Red Dragons never recovered, as two senior outside hitter Taylor Cimillo kills and a junior outside hitter Madison Van Pelt kill won the set for the Hawks, 25-15.

SUNY Oneonta traded places with SUNY New Paltz in the second, gaining a 5-2 advantage of its own. Boosting its lead to 10-4, the Hawks answered with a 8-3 run, cutting the score, 13-12.

A kill by Van Pelt down 14-17 sparked a come back for SUNY New Paltz. It accumulated four more unanswered points to take the 18-17 lead. Tied at 20-20, a kill by Cimillo and two by junior middle hitter Kerri Neville put the Hawks up by three, and placed momentum on their side. Another Neville kill sealed the set, 25-21.

Tied at nine in the third set, SUNY Oneonta jumped ahead with five unanswered points to take a 14-9 lead. Close throughout, the Red Dragons held a 22-18 lead towards the end. A 7-1 run, closed off by a sophomore outside hitter Julie Greenspan kill, took over the set for the Hawks, winning, 25-23.

"We went into the gym these last few days in practice with a different mindset," Cimillo said. "We knew we had to play harder if we wanted to win a conference match."

The Hawks return to the Hawk Center Saturday at 12 p.m., when they face Oswego State. They will conclude SUNYAC pool play with a 5 p.m. match against SUNY Potsdam.

"We hit pretty well, but there were some spots where the ball just wasn't where we wanted it to be," Giufre said. "If we can clean that timing up a little bit to be crisper, we'll be in a position to have a little more success."

To stay up to date with everything #NPHawks be sure to follow on Twitter at @nphawks, Instagram and Facebook at @newpaltzhawks, and subscribe to our Youtube channel,New Paltz Hawks.