The State University of New York at New Paltz women's volleyball team is preparing to host its first pair of State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) matches as it battles The College of Brockport and SUNY Geneseo Oct. 11 and Oct. 12, respectively, in the Hawk Center. 

"It's really nice to be able to be home this weekend," said senior Kerri Neville. "We've been on the road for the last two weekends for conference and Brockport and Geneseo are both huge teams in the conference and we've been just so excited to play them again." 

The Hawks will look to rebound off a loss from SUNY Cortland after falling in straight sets. Prior to that matchup, SUNY New Paltz downed Oswego State, 3-1. The Hawks currently stand at 8-8 overall and 3-2 in the SUNYAC. 

"We are working a lot on serving this week with some new ways to put pressure on opponents," said SUNY New Paltz coach Matt Giufre. "We are always working on ways to improve our offense and be more efficient there."

"Our hitting percentage was pretty low against Cortland, so we've been working in practice," added Neville. "We've been working on how to hit around blocks, how to use blocks to change our locations of hitting, and just more high level execution."

Senior Nicole Fellone paces the Hawks with 33 service aces, while also sitting on top with 238 digs. Additionally, Fellone collected her 1,000th dig of her collegiate career against Oswego State. Junior Demi Herasme has chipped in 39 blocks, while junior Haley Timarky has amassed 534 assists thus far. Senior Maddie Van Pelt is leading the SUNY New Paltz offense in kills (167), points (184.0), kills per set (3.15), and points per set (3.47). 

"Heading into this weekend, we just have to be able to control our side, execute to the level that we know we can, be tough, serve tough, defend well, block well," said Neville. 

The first challenger of the weekend are the Golden Eagles. The College at Brockport sits at 8-9 on the year and 4-1 in conference action after grabbing a 3-0 victory over Buffalo State. 

The Hawks most recently swept the Golden Eagles during the 2018 season. SUNY New Paltz will look for its second-straight win over The College at Brockport. 

Meaghan Mastro has contributed 142 kills to the Golden Eagle offense while racking up 48 blocks. Kerri McHale has posted 290 assists while Ellen Paddock paces The College at Brockport with 195 digs. Additionally, Shelby Dudnick has marked 37 service aces. The Golden Eagles enters the contest with a hitting percentage of .167. 

The following day, the Hawks will face off against arch rival, SUNY Geneseo. SUNY New Paltz will host the Knights for the time since the 2016 season, which saw the Hawks victorious in a 3-1 matchup. The most recent win over SUNY Geneseo comes from the 2018 SUNYAC championship match despite falling to the Knights during the regular season in straight sets. 

SUNY Geneseo holds a 10-8 overall record and an undefeated conference record of 5-0 thus far. The Knights are coming out of a 3-1 loss over Rochester Institute of Technology, in which SUNY New Paltz lost to earlier in the season with the same result at Scranton. 

Grace Cergol paces SUNY Geneseo's offense with 204 kills while Alexandra Franks leads with 29 service aces. Furthermore, Grace Thomas holds a team-high of 426 assists. Defensively, Sam Mendelsohn has collected 292 digs while Kiersten Colvin has tallied 41 blocks. 

"I've seen both Brockport and Geneseo on film and they are good, balanced teams with multiple weapons" added Giufre. "We are going to need to be strong with our serving and passing game in particular to run our full offense. I'm confident we will be ready for the challenge and look forward to playing at home again."

First serve against The College of Brockport is scheduled for a 6 p.m start. 

To follow along with live stats for both matches, click HERE. 

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