Box Score Hoboken, N.J.—The State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team (18-7 overall, 7-1 UVC) dropped a thrilling match to the No. 4 ranked team in the nation Stevens Institute of Technology (22-2, 8-1 UVC) Wednesday night on the road.
 
The match was a critical one for the United Volleyball Conference (UVC) standings, as the two teams played for a chance to host the UVC tournament, which starts April 12, but Stevens came out on top at the end of the five set match (24-26, 25-20, 19-25, 26-24, 15-10).
 
SUNY New Paltz won the first set, something it struggled to do this season on the road. The set came down to the wire, as consecutive service errors by both teams tied the set at 24. A kill by Hawks senior outside hitter Nick Smith and a block by freshman John Ronan were then enough to give the Hawks the lead, 1-0.
 
The Ducks tied up the score in the second set, but in the third set Hawks junior middle blocker Nick O'Malley spiked two kills in a row to put the Hawks up, 24-19, as they took the advantage once more, 2-1.
 
In the fourth set the Hawks kept a strong lead down the stretch, as they were up 19-15 thanks to a kill by Aaron Carrk, who had 15 kills on the night. The Ducks fought back to tie the set at 22, and a kill by Hawks junior middle blocker Tevin Skeete wasn't enough to push the Hawks to the win, as the Ducks tied the match at 2-2.
 
The final set started badly for the Hawks as coach Radu Petrus called a time-out with the score at 4-1 for the Ducks. Three consecutive service errors then hurt SUNY New Paltz, as Stevens took advantage and gained a 9-6 lead. The Ducks then maintained their advantage with some good defense to win the set 15-10, and the match 3-2.
 
The Hawks play Nazareth College next this Saturday at 3 p.m.

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