Box Score Beverly, MA -- The State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team (25-7 overall, 8-1 UVC) swept Baruch College (18-13) in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament Friday, advancing to the quarterfinal against either the hosting Gulls or St. Joseph's College-University Saturday at 6 p.m.
The Hawks earned a relatively easy 3-0 win (25-21, 25-23, 25-20) against the Bearcats at Endicott College in Massachusetts, building on their UVC Championship success as they look to advance further in the National Tournament.
SUNY New Paltz came out of the blocks with an early 3-1 lead thanks to a kill by freshman middle blocker
John Ronan, and then extended its lead to 15-10 after an error from the Bearcats. A three-point run by Baruch tied the set at 16-16, but a kill by Hawks junior outside hitter
Aaron Carrk put the Hawks up 22-18, as they rolled to a 25-21 first set victory.
Although the Hawks came out flying in the second with a three-point run, the score was tied six times, before the Bearcats took the lead at 9-8 after an error by SUNY New Paltz outside hitter
Nick Smith. The Hawks regained their composure though, and a ball handling error gifted them a two-point lead, 13-11. SUNY New Paltz opened up a 21-18 advantage after another kill by Ronan, but the Bearcats clawed back, with an ace to lock the set at 21-21. Carrk and Smith then took control, scoring consecutive points before a service error by Baruch ended the set at 25-23.
The Bearcats knotted the score at 9-9 to start the third, but the Hawks never lost their lead from then on. Bringing the momentum from their first two-set victories, SUNY New Paltz strung together a three-point run to gain a 16-11 lead, and then a five-point run thanks to two errors by Baruch, pushing its cushion to 22-15. Hawks junior outside hitter
Riley Dolan subbed in and immediately contributed with a point, with Ronan putting an end to the matchup at 25-20 with his seventh kill.
"I thought we passed pretty well. I thought we lacked a little urgency throughout all three sets, which we have to turn that up for the next round in order to win," said Smith. "But I thought the passing and serving was there, we just have to stay mentally focused throughout the match."
Smith led the Hawks with a game-high 15 kills to go along with a service ace, as he hit .500 on the day. Carrk added 12 kills from 22 attempts and senior captain
Bradley Schneider tallied nine kills with a .422 hitting percentage.
Ronan contributed with seven kills from 11 attempts with an impressive .545 hitting percentage, while All-UVC junior setter
Matthew Grace continued his standard playoff play with 45 assists and two digs.
"We knew coming into the NCAA Tournament no game was going to be easy and they proved that they belonged here," Grace said. "Credit to them. They did a great job playing a lot of digs and a lot of touches, and I thought they passed pretty well on our serves. They did a good job. No games are going to be easy here."
SUNY New Paltz play again Saturday in the quarterfinal round against either the hosting Gulls or St. Joseph's College-University at 6 p.m.
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