The United Volleyball Conference announced its yearly award winners Thursday and the State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team led the pack with five All-Conference selections. Junior setter Matthew Grace and senior outside hitter Nick Smith were both named to the All-UVC First-Team list, while junior outside hitter Aaron Carrk, junior middle blocker Nick O'Malley and senior outside hitter Bradley Schneider made second-team.

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After earning a Second-Team All-UVC nod last season, junior captain Grace earned his first First-Team All-UVC selection this spring after leading his team with 962 assists, ranking second in the conference. Grace's leadership was crucial in the Hawks' success in 2019, where the team finished 22-7 in the regular season and 8-1 in UVC action, earning a No. 2 seed in the conference tournament starting April 13.

In 88 sets played, Grace averaged nearly 11 assists per set, while also adding 30 kills, 118 digs and 29 blocks on the year. Already ranking third in assists in SUNY New Paltz single-season history, Grace also sits 10th all-time after producing 962 assists this year. He currently ranks fourth all-time in career assists with 2,351, sitting behind just Christian Smith ('16), Andrew Cassius ('11) and Robet Manosca ('01).


Smith earned his second-straight First-Team All-UVC nod after a dominating performance for the Hawks in his final season. The 6-foot, 4-inch outside hitter was the offensive catalyst for SUNY New Paltz, registering a team-leading 327 kills on the year, ranking third in the UVC, while averaging 3.48 kills per set – third most in UVC.

Smith had arguably his most dominating pair of performances this past week in his final games in the Hawk Center. He totaled 28 kills with a remarkable .521 hitting percentage to lead his team to a pair of 3-0 sweeps over St. Joseph's College-Long Island and then No. 4 nationally ranked Kean University, which led to a UVC and Sports Imports/AVCA Player of the Week nod.

In 94 sets played, Smith totaled 382 points, averaging 4.06 points per set with a .394 hitting percentage – ranking fourth in the conference – to go along with 23 assists, 124 digs, 24 blocks and 35 aces, with the latter ranking seventh most in the conference.

Carrk had a breakout year for the Hawks this season. After starting just four games last season, the junior outside hitter from Delmar, NY started all but three matches, playing in 93 sets and ranking second on the team in kills (302), points per set (3.94), kills per set (3.25), while pacing SUNY New Paltz in blocks (37)  and tying for first in service aces with 35. Carrk is also among the league leaders in kills (fifth), kills per set (fifth) and aces (sixth).





Despite missing 10 games due to a back injury, O'Malley still put up staggering numbers to establish himself as one the best middle blockers in the conference. The junior leads his team with a .419 hitting percentage, ranking third in UVC, while totaling 156 kills to boast an average of 2.56 kills per set, 190 points for 3.11 points per set to go along with five assists, 27 digs and 34 blocks. O'Malley totaled double-digit kills in eight matches this year, while hitting more than .300 in 13 matches. His most dominating performance came Feb. 23 against Augustana when he totaled a season-high 15 kills for an astounding .882 hitting percentage.



Although Schneider was originally a sophomore transfer for SUNY New Paltz, he quickly took on a leadership role on a talented roster and was named senior captain this season. He finished his final regular season for the Hawks with his first All-UVC selection. The senior outside hitter out of Lockport, NY finished third on the team in total kills (248), kills per set (2.64) and second in digs (127), just behind libero Robert Nolan. Schneider ended the regular season with a .286 hitting percentage, while starting all but one game he played in and added 11 assists and 24 blocks. He totaled double-digit kills in 12 of 26 games played, while hitting over .300 in 15 matches. Schneider totaled a season-high 16 kills twice this season, both victories, against Marian University Jan. 12 and Cal Lutheran Jan. 18.

To read the full UVC press release, click here.

The Hawks begin post-season play Saturday in the UVC semifinals at Stevens Institute of Technology at 5 p.m. 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.