New York, NY -- The State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team (7-2 overall) was unable to pull away with two wins Saturday at the Hunter College Tri-Match in New York City, earning a 3-1 victory over Lasell College before falling 3-2 to the hosting Hawks.

SUNY New Paltz prevailed in four sets (25-15, 25-14, 15-25, 25-21) against the Lasers (3-6), but didn't seem to have the energy to close out its second match up as well.

Lasell never looked like it was going to trouble SUNY New Paltz, as freshman outside hitter Brendan Spulnick put on a dominating performance with 13 kills, while junior Bradley Schneider added eight kills of his own. 

The Hawks put the game away in the fourth set after capitalizing with 13 kills on 24 attempts, to Lasell's eight.

Against Hunter (4-3), SUNY New Paltz trailed for the majority of the game, but fought to close the gap down the stretch. Unfortunately the visiting Hawks lost their second game of the season, as the home crowd pushed Hunter to victory (21-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-20, 10-15).

"It was more mental towards the end," said SUNY New Paltz coach Radu Petrus. "A few bad decisions in our offense gave them the game."

Starting a lineup of all freshmen for their second matchup, SUNY New Paltz had to fight from behind from the start.

SUNY New Paltz lost the first set to start the game uphill, as freshmen inexperience proved a factor. SUNY New Paltz outside hitter Tim Drake tied the score at 16, but two aces by Hunter gave the home side back the lead at 19-16. Two service errors then hindered the visiting Hawks, as they gave up the first set, 25-21.

SUNY New Paltz started the second set strong, picking up an early 10-4 lead. Schneider and Nick Smith both had consecutive kills in the set to eventually put their team up, 18-12. SUNY New Paltz pulled ahead late thanks to some crucial blocks to set the game back on level terms.

SUNY New Paltz held a 16-11 lead in the third set, but Hunter clawed back to take the advantage after a couple of service aces coupled with SUNY New Paltz errors put the hosts back up. The set was well fought, but some smart play from Alec Helford pushed Hunter ahead, 24-22, and ultimately, a block on the ensuing point gave the hosting Hawks the set win.

SUNY New Paltz was determined not to lose and took command in the fourth set.  After tying the game at 10 with a kill by Nick Smith, SUNY New Paltz maintained its distance for the rest of the set. Hunter College cut the score, 22-20 after an error by Aaron Carrk, but the senior put up two kills in crunch time to push his team over the edge, as SUNY New Paltz tied the match at two games apiece after winning the fourth, 25-20.

Hunter went up early in the final set, forcing SUNY New Paltz to call a timeout immediately with the score sitting at 3-1. However the visiting Hawks couldn't get close, as Hunter stayed ahead in the shortened fifth set, never losing its composure and earning a 15-10 set victory to steal away the match win.

The Hawks face Bard College next on Feb.13 at 7 p.m. in the Hawk Center. 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.