Box Score Poughkeepsie, NY — Proving too much for Vassar College (4-3 overall, 0-1 UVC), the State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team (6-1, 1-0) gained an impressive win against its local rival Wednesday night.
 
The Hawks won in four sets against the Brewers, (25-17, 16-25, 25-20, 25-20) and grabbed their first win in the United Volleyball Conference (UVC) of the season.
 
SUNY New Paltz started off hot with an ace from Matthew Grace, taking the lead to 3-1 in the first set and the Hawks didn't stop there, with Grace dishing out multiple assists. Vassar tried to break SUNY New Paltz's rhythm with a time-out at 16-11, but the Hawks closed the first set with ease.
 
The Brewers were ready for the second set and put up a good fight. With the score tied at 11, Vassar went up 16-12 to force SUNY New Paltz coach Radu Petrus into a time-out, but it wasn't enough to spur his team, as three aces from the Brewers propelled a 25-16 set win.
 
The victory gave the Brewers some energy going into the third set, which Petrus took note of.
 
"They took the game more seriously and fought for each ball," Petrus said. "With Vassar there's always local ambition and good competition."
 
The Hawks pulled ahead 12-9 thanks to a 3-0 run capped off by a Bradley Schneider kill and again forcing Vassar into a time-out. SUNY New Paltz then held onto the lead with Nick O'Malley and Nick Smith leading the way, with the latter finishing with a game-high 15 kills, to win the set handily.
 
Vassar went up 4-0 to start off the final set, but the Hawks fought back. O'Malley was the difference, as he had a big ace late to help his team take a 16-15 lead. With service errors happening on both sides of the net, the score was tied again at 19, but some crucial errors from the Brewers allowed SUNY New Paltz to push ahead and win the set, 25-20, and the match.
 
"Overall we made some easy mistakes and we will try to fix them for this coming weekend, which will be a challenge for all players," added Petrus.
 
The Hawks return to action Saturday for a double header in New York City against Lasell College and Hunter College at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. respectively

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.