Box Score New Paltz, N.Y. —The State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team (21-7 overall, 8-1 UVC) defeated St. Joseph's College-Long Island (19-6) with a 3-0 sweep (25-19, 25-18, 25-15) to take its home winning streak to 10 games in a row on Tuesday night.
 
"[Ten] in a row at home is a good accomplishment," said Hawks junior setter Matthew Grace. "Playing at home in front of the fans is great. It gives us a little boost in the game, so [10] in a row is good but we gotta keep on going." 
 In the first set SUNY New Paltz started well, as freshman middle blocker John Ronan had three kills, and the offensive power of senior outside hitter Nick Smith and junior Aaron Carrk was too much for the Golden Eagles. Although St. Joseph's made it 21-17 with a service ace, the Hawks cleaned up their play and closed out the set, also thanks to Grace who had 11 assists in the first set.
 
Hawks junior middle blocker Tevin Skeete turned it on early in the second, giving the Hawks a 7-6 lead with his third kill of the set. The Golden Eagles played hard, energized by their bench, but the Hawks picked up speed as the set went on, with Smith and Carrk again proving decisive. St. Joseph's went on a three point run to make cut the score, 17-14, but couldn't force the issue as the Hawks won again, 25-18.
 
The third set was all about Hawks captain Bradley Schneider, as he hit an ace, had a kill assisted by co-captain Grace, and then served another ace to push the Hawks up 10-7, as they won the set and the game, 25-15.
 
SUNY New Paltz can now look to end the regular season on a 11-game home winning streak Saturday against Kean University (21-5) before getting into playoff mode for their United Volleyball Conference (UVC) semifinal April 13.
 
"Kean would give us a lot of reassurance if we got that win," said Hawks junior Aaron Carrk. "It would be good recognition that we've kinda fine tuned ourselves and are ready to take care of business."
 
The Hawks will face the winner of the No. 3 and No. 6 seeded teams in the UVC tournament.
 
"It doesn't really matter if we play St. John Fisher or Vassar in the semifinals," Carrk added. "We know both teams really well, so we'd feel comfortable with playing either."
 
The Hawks face Kean University on Saturday at 6 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.