The last time the State University of New York at New Paltz women's volleyball team earned a bye into the semifinals of the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) tournament was in 2015.
The Hawks swept Oswego State that year, 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-22), to move onto the conference finals. This year, SUNY New Paltz hopes to do the same, facing the Lakers Friday at SUNY Geneseo to start postseason play. 
"Oswego's a really good defensive team, and have been good offensively all year as well," said Hawks coach Matt Giufre. "We have a good shot, but Oswego's not going to make any point easy."
Ending the regular season 24-8 overall, with a 8-1 record in the SUNYAC, SUNY New Paltz enters the weekend as the No. 2 seed in the tournament, along with being ranked No. 8 in the NCAA Division III New York regional rankings.
Oswego State (19-13 overall, 4-5 SUNYAC), on the other hand, came into the postseason as the last seed at No. 6. The Lakers pulled off a stunning upset in the quarterfinals, beating the No. 3 seed and No. 10 in the regional rankings, The College at Brockport, 3-2 (21-25, 25-23, 9-25, 26-24, 15-9 Oct. 30.
The Hawks find themselves in a bit of a rut as of late, dropping four of their last seven games to end the regular season. SUNY New Paltz lost to both Morrisville State College and Skidmore College in its last day of matches, 3-2 (19-25, 9-25, 25-17, 29-27, 16-18) and 3-1 (19-25, 25-17, 10-25, 15-25), respectively.
"Morrisville was a tough match that we were able to reflect on," said sophomore outside hitter Demi Herasme. "Even though it was a loss, we were able to practice being in the mindset and atmosphere of a five set match. I believe that we're a great team, and if we show up and play the way we can, we'll be fine."
Earlier this year on Oct. 6, the Hawks handled Oswego State, beating the Lakers 3-1 (25-19, 16-25, 25-22, 25-17) in their only set of home SUNYAC matches of the season.
Looming on the other side of the bracket, however, lies the only team SUNY New Paltz has not beaten in its conference, No. 9 in the NCAA regional rankings, SUNY Geneseo (21-9 overall, 9-0 SUNYAC). The Knights squashed the Hawks, 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-23) on Oct. 20, taking full possession of the No. 1 seed in the SUNYAC tournament.
As host of the tournament, SUNY Geneseo will take on the No. 4 seed SUNY Fredonia at 7 p.m. Friday.
SUNY New Paltz begins its postseason journey at 4 p.m. against Oswego State, looking for its first SUNYAC championship since 2014.
"At this point, it's about who's going to come out with the enthusiasm and the aggressiveness to win the match tomorrow," Giufre said. "That's the team that will come out on top."
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