With the Jan. 30 match against Ramapo College postponed due to weather, it's been 18 days since the State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team has competed in a regular season game. The Hawks will end their vacation Wednesday night, when SUNY New Paltz opens up United Volleyball Conference (UVC) play against Vassar College.
 
"We're just putting the bar higher and higher," said SUNY New Paltz junior outside hitter Riley Dolan. "These guys have expectations nothing short of winning a National Championship, and we're taking it one step at a time." 
 
The Hawks, who currently sit third in the NCAA Division III AVCA coaches poll, will get their first shot at redemption against the Brewers after Vassar College ended SUNY New Paltz's season in 2018. Although the Brewers did not win the UVC championship, Vassar College's season, couple with a 3-1 (28-26, 24-26, 25-20, 25-22) victory over the Hawks in the first round of the conference playoffs, was enough for an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
 
Although the Hawks could not beat Vassar College in either meetings of 2018, losing to the Brewers 3-2 (25-13, 26-24, 24-26, 23-25, 10-15) in the regular season as well, SUNY New Paltz was extremely successful against Vassar College when it mattered most in 2017. The Hawks first defeated the No. 2 nationally ranked Brewers in the semifinals of the UVC tournament, 3-1 (34-32, 25-22, 24-26, 25-18), then again in the second round of the NCAA tournament, 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-23).
 
SUNY New Paltz still sits at 5-1 on the year after not playing in a single game since its California trip. The Brewers come into the match at 4-2, dropping their last match 3-1 (10-25, 28-26, 12-25, 23-25) to the No. 1 team in the country and reigning National Champions, Springfield College.
 
With unranked Vassar College coming off of an NCAA tournament run in 2018, the Brewers are hungry for more in the 2019 season. A win against No. 3 SUNY New Paltz would be the perfect resume booster to put Vassar College within tournament talks.
 
"Spirits are high, we just don't want to take our high ranking for granted," said Hawks junior middle blocker Nick O'Malley. "We want to start conference play really strong, and we want to make sure that we treat every opponent as the toughest team in the nation."

The Hawks hope to return to their winning ways at 7 p.m. Wednesday night when they travel across the river to Vassar College. 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.