New Paltz, NY -- The State University of New York at New Paltz women's volleyball team collected its second-straight State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) win over Plattsburgh State (25-10, 20-25, 25-15, 25-9) Saturday in the Hawk Center to secure a spot in the conference tournament.

"We saw lots of contributions again," said Hawks coach Matt Giufre. "Courtney [Gebhardt] hit the ball pretty well and she's playing a new position starting this week. She really hit the ball well and made some good scramble plays to help keep some rallies alive. Julie [Greenspan] was really good on the outside and we kind of flipped where they were playing. They both were doing it with confidence. That was nice to see. It was nice to see us kind of give Maddie [Van Pelt] the ball a little bit more. Kerri [Neville] was really good in the middle and I thought defensively we were okay. Really good serving on our side which was really important. That's something we haven't done so well and it was a big plus too."

The victory lifts SUNY New Paltz's record back up to a .500, as it stands at 10-10 overall and 5-4 in the SUNYAC. On the other hand, the Cardinals' record fell to 7-15 on the year and 0-7 in conference play. 

Plattsburgh State opened up the game taking the first three points after a pair of service aces from Allyssa Rock and a kill from Rachel Mennonna. The Hawks quickly responded by tallying four consecutive points to make it 4-3, which included a pair of kills by senior Kerri Neville and a service from freshman Mia Waddell. Both teams exchanged points until the sixth point before SUNY New Paltz scored nine-straight points to increase the score, 15-6. 

The Hawks kept the momentum going as it made another eight-point run to boost their lead, 24-8, where SUNY New Paltz took advantage of several attack errors and a bad set from the Cardinals and two kills from junior Julie Greenspan and freshman Makenzie Bills. Plattsburgh State was only able to collect two more points after an attack error from Megan Hyde closed the first set and gave the Hawks a 25-10 set win. 

Although SUNY New Paltz dropped the second set, 20-25, to even the game at one, a kill from Van Pelt and a service ace from Neville helped contribute to a 4-1 jump for the Hawks in the third set. The Cardinals tied the set at eight after a kill by Michelle Simmons. SUNY New Paltz re-took the lead after blocks from junior Demi Herasme and sophomore Courtney Gebhardt pushed for a 19-13 advantage. Plattsburgh State was held to 15 points in set three as two service aces from Fellone, a kill from Gebhardt and three attack errors from the Cardinals ended set three with the Hawks grabbing its second victory, 25-15. 

"After losing the second set to Plattsburgh, Haley Timarky actually kind of brought our team together and really told us how it's unacceptable and how we really need this to win and how important it is," said Van Pelt. "Our coach really helped us understand and realize how we need this to potentially get in. Haley and our coach really brought us together and brought the positive energy that we needed to bring into the next set".

SUNY New Paltz wasted no time to begin set four as it rapidly established a 7-1 lead. Kills from Van Pelt and Herasme, a service error and two attack errors from the foes continued to pile up points for the Hawks, 12-2. 

After the Cardinals scored five more points, SUNY New Paltz collected seven-straight points to improve the score, 20-7. Plattsburgh State struggled to cut the deficit as it only scored two more points. Kills from Greenspan and sophomore Hannah Miller, an ace from Timarky and an attack error from Hyde sealed the deal for the Hawks, as they captured the set 4 win, 25-9, and their second-straight conference victory, 3-1.

Van Pelt tallied 10 kills, including her 1,000th kill that occurred during the fourth set, which put her in the record books with nine other Hawks for most all-time. She also added 11 digs, a team-high of 10.5 points and one block to her outing Saturday. 

"Getting a thousand kills was pretty satisfying," added Van Pelt. "I think getting the win was more important today, especially because we needed this win to potentially get into the SUNYAC play this year, but yeah getting my thousand point of my setter Haley Timarky is pretty amazing. It's a good feeling."  

Greenspan finished the contest with nine kills, nine digs and nine points. Fellone added five service aces, 18 assists and 17 digs. Herasme racked up six kills and three blocks. Additionally, Herasme and Neville tied with eight points each. Both junior Caleigh Carr and Timarky combined for 30 assists.

SUNY New Paltz left the Hawk Center with a hitting percentage of .245, whereas Plattsburgh State finished with a -.081 hitting percentage. 

The Hawks are scheduled for one more home game during the regular season as they welcome Western Connecticut State University to town Oct. 23. In addition, SUNY New Paltz will honor its five seniors for Senior Day. Start time is scheduled for 6 p.m.