Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Santa Cruz, CA — The State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team earned a 2-0 sweep in the first day of the University of California Santa Cruz Slug Slam tournament at Kaiser Permanente Arena in its first two games of the regular season Saturday.
 
After going up 2-0 in the first match and holding a narrow lead in the third set against Marian University, the Hawks dropped the next two sets to bring the match even. Seven attack errors by the Sabres in the fifth set ultimately handed SUNY New Paltz the match, 3-2 (25-22, 25-19, 32-34, 25-27, 15-6). The Hawks dropped the first set in the match against California Lutheran University, but bounced back with a strong showing to take a 3-1 (19-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-22) win against the No. 8 ranked team in the AVCA coaches poll
 
"Yeah unfortunately that first match against Marian took longer than we hoped," said SUNY New Paltz senior outside hitter Bradley Schneider. "We didn't play our best game today but we bounced back big time against Cal Lutheran. Two nice wins today and two tough teams in North Central and UC Santa Cruz to take on tomorrow."
 
The Hawks offense came out strong in the first set against Marian University, as two kills by junior middle blocker Tevin Skeete pushed SUNY New Paltz in front 7-4. With the Sabres close behind at 11-8, a kill and two service aces by senior outside hitter Nick Smith gave the Hawks their largest advantage at 13-8, and forced a Marian University timeout.
 
The stoppage proved vital to the Sabres, who came back on the court with a 6-1 run to tie the set at 14. A pair of kills by Schneider and Skeete gave SUNY New Paltz the lead back at 16-14, allowing the Hawks to push forward and never look back. Two errors by SUNY New Paltz to make it 24-22 would not be enough to push the Hawks out of the way, as a kill by Smith gave them the 1-0 lead in the match.
 
Jumping out to an 8-3 advantage in the second set, SUNY New Paltz's offense never cooled off, as another 7-1 run later in the set gave them a 10 point advantage at 17-7. The Hawks up 22-15, three unanswered points by Marian University made the set close again at 22-18. A service error and two kills by sophomore middle blocker Sam Yakubowski and junior middle blocker Nick O'Malley, however, allowed the Hawks to gain a strong 2-0 lead.
 
The Sabres would not go down without a fight, forcing a third set that featured 12 lead changes to find themselves up 23-21. An attack error and a kill by Smith tied the set at 23, but another kill by Marian University gave them the advantage at 24-23, and forced SUNY New Paltz coach Radu Petrus to call a timeout.
 
Smith and Schneider came up with two kills out the gate to put the Hawks back up 25-24, but the Sabres stopped their attempt to steal the set and match with a kill of their own, making the set even at 25. Back and forth throughout, a kill by O'Malley to even the score at 32 was not enough for SUNY New Paltz, as Marian University pushed ahead to grab the set 34-32 and stay in the match.
 
The Hawks fought back from a slight four point deficit in the fourth set, as a kill by junior outside hitter Aaron Carrk began a 3-0 run for SUNY New Paltz to tie things at 13. With the Hawks gaining the lead back at 16-15, they pushed forward to gain a 22-21 advantage off a Schneider kill. An attack error and kill by the Sabres swung momentum on their side, taking the lead once again at 23-22 and forcing another SUNY New Paltz timeout.
 
With Marian University holding a 25-24 lead late in the fourth, Smith came up clutch for the Hawks with a kill to even the set at 25. Two more kills by the Sabres however, gave them the set win at 27-25, and brought the match even at two.
 
SUNY New Paltz came out hungry in the fifth set, grabbing a 7-1 lead and never looking back. Overpowering Marian University until the end, a service ace by Skeete sealed the match and the set 15-6, giving the Hawks their first win of the season.
 
"We emphasized coming out in the fifth with a lot of energy," Carrk said. "Our team thrives on adrenaline and we know when we have a lot of energy no one can stop us."
 
After a block by Skeete put SUNY New Paltz up 1-0 in the first set against California Lutheran University, the Hawks never saw the lead again in the set, falling early 5-9. A timeout by coach Petrus was not enough to get the offense going, as the Kingsmen took a 1-0 lead, winning the set 25-19.
 
SUNY New Paltz came out firing in the second set, earning an early 9-3 advantage. A 7-2 run by Cal Lutheran University propelled them back in the set however, only down one at 13-12.  A kill by Carrk put the Hawks up 18-16, but the Kingsmen quickly answered with five unanswered points to take a three point lead at 18-21.
 
Suddenly SUNY New Paltz's offense created another run in crunch time, as a kill by O'Malley caused a 7-1 run to take the set 25-22. The Hawks pushed momentum onto their side heading into the third, tying the match at one.
 
Down 8-10 in the third set, a service error by Cal Lutheran University allowed SUNY New Paltz to score five unanswered points and take the lead back 13-10. With the Kingsmen tying the set at 17, two kills by Carrk pushed the Hawks ahead 19-17. A 4-2 run concluded by a freshman outside hitter Brendan Spulnick service gave SUNY New Paltz full control of the set at 23-19, as the Hawks would go on to win 25-22 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
With the fourth set tied at six, another kill by Carrk allowed SUNY New Paltz to score six unanswered points and take the lead, 12-6. The Hawks went ahead 16-9, but a 6-2 run by Cal Lutheran University brought them back in the game down 18-15. The Kingsmen would use that momentum to score five unanswered points of their own, taking the lead at 20-19.
 
Finding a way to finish strong, a kill by Schneider caused another 6-2 run for SUNY New Paltz to win the set 25-22, and the match 3-1 against the No. 8 team in the country in Cal Lutheran University.
 
"We take these games seriously in the beginning of the season, and we expect to be improving after each match," Petrus said. "They were really motivated today and focused on each point. We still had some problems with our serve receive today, but hopefully we can be better tomorrow. "
 
The Hawks return to action Sunday at 5 p.m. against North Central College, followed by a match at 9 p.m. against the host team of the Slug Slam, the University of California Santa Cruz.

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