Box Score Springfield, MA.-- The State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team (14-6 overall, 5-0 UVC) took on Springfield College (19-2) in a heated match between the two rivals Wednesday.
 
The Hawks took the No. 2 team in the nation to the fourth set, eventually losing 3-1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23). The last three sets were decided by less than three points, demonstrating the valiant effort by SUNY New Paltz. The loss on paper didn't show how the game developed, as the Hawks had chances to put other sets away.
 
SUNY New Paltz didn't come out with the right attitude in the first set, falling down early, and was unable to stay close to the Pride, as they won 25-16.
 
"We made a few free ball mistakes and lost our confidence in the first set," said Hawks coach Radu Petrus.
 
The Hawks came back strong in the second and took the set, 25-23, playing much better especially on defense, disrupting the middle's play. The set was tied at 23-23, when junior Tevin Skeete spiked for a kill, giving senior captain Bradley Schneider the chance to smash his ace, winning the set and tying the match at 1-1 for SUNY New Paltz.
 
The third set stayed within a very close margin between the two teams. A kill by Hawks senior Nick Smith made the score 22-20, and a block by freshman middle blocker John Ronan brought the score within one, but Springfield pulled away 24-22 before a dubious blocking error call on Skeete gifted the Pride the set.
 
The Hawks knew they could take Springfield to the final set and started the fourth strong, taking a 16-12 lead with another kill by Smith. A couple errors by SUNY New Paltz allowed Springfield back in, and the score was tied at 19.
 
Smith was on fire again as he scored two straight points to give the Hawks a slim, 21-19 lead. The Pride came back to tie the set at 21 before the Hawks again took a 23-21 lead, but two aces by Springfield pushed the Pride through, as they won the set, 25-23, and the match.
 
"We made too many easy mistakes in the fourth set, but overall we did well," Petrus said. "Hopefully we can do better this coming weekend in the UVC."
 
The Hawks play NYU next in a UVC matchup on Thursday at 6 p.m.

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