Saratoga Springs, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz split its final two games of the Skidmore Invitational Saturday, playing two tough five-set matches against Morrisville State and the hosting Thoroughbreds.
 
The Hawks (15-10 overall) earned a thrilling, 3-2 (23-25, 25-23, 25-19, 15-13) win against the Mustangs (20-7), and despite a good outing against Skidmore (15-10), couldn't pull out the consecutive five-set victory and fell, 25-22, 10-25, 25-23, 21-25, 10-15.
 
Against the Mustangs, SUNY New Paltz came back after losing the first set by taking the second, 25-23. The lead changed hands four times early in the set before Caleigh Carr assisted Kerri Neville for a kill to put the Hawks ahead, 8-7. Morrisville tied the score three times at 18, 20 and 23-all, but SUNY New Paltz never relinquished control and ultimately put away the second-set victory following a kill by Demi Herasme and a ball-handling error by the Mustangs. 
The Hawks built off their win with a convincing 25-19 victory in the third, with middles Kerri Neville and Demi Herasme leading the way. The duo combined for nine kills and two blocks in the set with Herasme finalizing the win after her fourth kill of the third at set point.
 
The Mustangs put an end to SUNY New Paltz's momentum in the fourth, stretching the game to a deciding fifth set.

Morrisville rolled into the final stanza and gained an early lead that the Hawks continued to work toward. SUNY New Paltz faced a 13-11 deficit and refused to allow the Mustangs to put the game away. Maddie Van Pelt started the rally, putting down a kill assisted by Carr. Neville and Steele followed with back-to-back kills with the former solidifying the game at match point with another kill to give the Hawks a 15-13 victory.
 
"This was a good day of volleyball for us," said SUNY New Paltz coach Matt Giufre. "The Morrisville match was a great win. They are undefeated in their conference and a top team overall. Going down 12-10 in the fifth and fighting back showed great character and toughness."
 
The Hawks had one of their best offensive performances, hitting .247 as a team and got production from a myriad of players with Herasme (15), Neville (15) and Van Pelt (14) all reaching double-figure kill totals. Neville led the team with 19.5 points, while adding five blocks and three digs defensively.
 
Following the victory over the Mustangs, SUNY New Paltz took on the Thoroughbreds for their last regular season game of the year. Giufre played a variety of lineups during the match and got great production along his roster.
 
Victoria Konicki and Hannah Miller each recorded career-high kill totals in the game with 11 and 14, respectively, with Miller totaling a game-high as well. Carr and Haley Timarky contributed 24 assists apiece, while Olivia D'Antonio and Mia Waddell recorded a team-high 10 digs each.
 
"I thought the various groups that played against Skidmore did a really nice job overall," Giufre said. "We mixed up lineups in each set and Victoria and Hannah in particular gave us quality play. Unfortunately, we didn't quite have enough to pull out the win, but we were able to get people needed experience and I'm proud of how they fought."
 
With the regular season officially over, the Hawks are now focused on defending their SUNYAC Championship crown. The conference tournament is set to begin Tuesday with No. 5 seed SUNY New Paltz visiting Catskill Cup rival, No. 4 seed SUNY Oneonta for a quarterfinal match at 6 p.m.

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