New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz women's volleyball team finished day two of the Hawk Invitational with two more wins, beating Mount Saint Mary College 3-0 (25-10, 25-13, 25-20) and Hamilton College 3-2 (24-26, 24-26, 26-24, 25-20, 16-14).
Following the undefeated weekend, the Hawks move to 6-2 on the year. SUNY New Paltz only dropped two sets throughout the entire tournament.

"Our team is really determined to go out and bring their A game every time they play," said Hawks coach Matt Giufre. "They proved what they've been doing in practice all along."

SUNY New Paltz wasted no time getting ahead in the first match of the day against Mount Saint Mary, jumping out to an 8-0 lead in the first set. The Hawks scored in bunches, never letting up to take the set at 25-10.

Taking momentum with them, SUNY New Paltz jumped out early in the second set as well with a 4-0 lead coming from a kill by junior outside hitter Madison Van Pelt and three more by senior outside hitter Taylor Cimillo. When the Knights crept back to make it 5-3 Hawks, SUNY New Paltz broke away with ease, evidently winning the set at 25-13.

The third set proved to be more of a challenge for the Hawks. Fighting back and forth with Mount Saint Mary, the Hawks were finally able to take control after a kill from junior outside hitter Emily Visintini to make it 17-14. The Knights fought till the end, scoring three points consecutively to make it 24-20. A kill from Van Pelt finished the set 25-20, and the match.

"We just really wanted to bring it," explained Van Pelt. "This is a really positive thing for us. We're going to bring [this weekend] into the next match, and work on things on Monday in practice."

Hoping to continue their success into the second match of the day, the Hawks hit a wall in the first set against Hamilton College. A back and forth set featuring nine scoring ties overpowered SUNY New Paltz, giving Hamilton a quick 1-0 with the 26-24 set win.

The Hawks started the second set strong, coming out with a 7-2 lead. Never growing their lead larger than six allowed the Continentals to fight back, putting together two four-point spurts to put them up top, 20-18. With Hamilton up 24-20, SUNY New Paltz came up with a four-point streak of their own, finished with a kill by Van Pelt to even the set at 24. However, the effort was not enough, as Hamilton took another set, 26-24.

The third set was the momentum swing the Hawks desperately needed. With a 23-13 lead, SUNY New Paltz allowed Hamilton to get back into the set with a nine-point run. This time, however, SUNY New Paltz played strong till the end. At 24-24, a kill by Cimillo and an attack error gave the Hawks the set and put the match at 2-1.

The Continentals came out hot in the fourth, but the Hawks were not backing down. With the fourth set even at 14, SUNY New Paltz found a way to take the lead for good. Another late four-point run by Hamilton was not enough, allowing the Hawks to tie the match even at two.

A true nail biter till the end, the fifth set was once again closely contested between the two teams. With the game tied at 14, kills by Cimillo and sophomore outside hitter Julie Greenspan gave the Hawks the advantage, and the win.

Besides winning all four games in the tournament, Coach Giufre was happy he had the chance to coach against two of his former assistant coaches, Kristin Baker of Hamilton, and Dakota Pruiss of Alfred University.

"Their teams play to their personalities, which is pretty cool," Giufre said. "It was great watching them do what I've been doing for such a long time."

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