Box Score

Fullerton, CA --- After starting the season with four impressive wins in the Slug Slam tournament at the University of California Santa Cruz, the State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team lost its first game of the year Wednesday.

The Hawks managed to pull out the first set against Hope International University 27-25, but could not bounce back from a 2-1 deficit in the fourth set to ultimately fall 3-1 (27-25, 24-26, 20-25, 23-25) in the Royals first match of the season.

"We had a bad day against Hope International," said SUNY New Paltz coach Radu Petrus. "We will look to fix some of the problems including ball control tomorrow morning in practice."

In a back-and-forth first set that featured 10 ties, the Hawks found themselves down with their biggest deficit at 12-15. A kill by junior outside hitter Aaron Carrk allowed SUNY New Paltz to tie again at 22, but Hope International University scored twice more to force set-point, 24-22. An attack error killed momentum for the Royals however, and forced them to call a timeout with the Hawks lurking behind down one. 

Instead of propelling Hope International University towards a victory, the timeout worked in SUNY New Paltz's favor. A kill by senior outside hitter Nick Smith and a service ace by junior libero Robert Nolan allowed the Hawks to take the lead back, 25-24. After the Royals scored off a kill, junior middle blocker Nick O'Malley sealed the deal with two kills to give SUNY New Paltz a 1-0 lead with a 27-25 set victory.

The Hawks found themselves in another back-and-forth battle in the second set, this time tying with Hope International University 15 times. Never falling behind by more than two points, two kills by Carrk gave SUNY New Paltz a 22-19 advantage, and forced the Royals to call a timeout.

Pushing forward to gain a 24-22 lead at set-point, the Hawks called a timeout of their own. Just like Hope International University's timeout in the first, SUNY New Paltz accomplished the opposite of what they planned, and handed the momentum to the Royals. Hope International University scored four unanswered points, ultimately winning the set 26-24 to tie the match at one.

The Royals used the second set to their advantage, jumping out to a 9-5 lead in the third and never looking back. With the Hawks biggest deficit at six, two errors allowed them to climb back in the set down 20-18. Hope International University answered quickly with a 5-2 run to grab the 2-1 lead in the match after a 25-20 set win.

SUNY New Paltz and the Royals tied each other 14 times in the fourth set, with the Hawks gaining their largest lead at 15-12 off a four-unanswered point run. With Hope International University mounting a comeback down 16-15, coach Petrus called a timeout to regroup his team. To no avail, the Royals continued to score profusely to take a 20-17 lead.

A kill by senior outside hitter Bradley Schneider kept SUNY New Paltz in the match down 24-23, and forced Hope International University to call a timeout of its own. The stoppage was what the Royals needed, as a kill won the set 25-23, and gave them their first win of the year, 3-1.

The Hawks will return to action Friday at 10 p.m. in their last match of the California trip against California Lutheran University.

"We're preparing to use more players Friday as additional options," Petrus said. "[We need] to work on team chemistry first, then focus on serve receive for a few players. We will spend more time in practice on our weaknesses and add specific drills."

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