The State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team (26-7 overall, 8-1 UVC) will play in the NCAA Tournament semifinal against No.1 nationally ranked Springfield College (27-2) Friday at Kean University.

The Hawks come off an incredible run in the NCAA Tournament, having entered the competition after winning the United Volleyball Conference Championship against Stevens Institute of Technology 3-1 (25-21, 26-24, 14-25, 27-25). 

In its first round matchup of the NCAA Tournament, SUNY New Paltz defeated Baruch College handily, 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-20) to take care of business.

The Hawks then squeezed through to the semifinals after beating Endicott College 3-2 (25-21, 22-25, 18-25, 25-22, 19-17), in a game that will live in SUNY New Paltz memory for some time to come.

The Hawks were down 8-2 in the final set, before leading an extraordinary comeback thanks to the return of junior middle blocker Nick O'Malley from injury. O'Malley spurred a critical four-point run in the set to tie the score at 13, as the Hawks beat the odds and advanced after an 19-17 fifth-set victory. Senior outside hitter Nick Smith scored the final point, and ended with a game-high 21 kills and a service ace.

SUNY New Paltz now faces a familiar rival in defending National Champions Springfield College. The Pride defeated Rivier College, 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-21) in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament to advance to the semifinals.

The Hawks have faced Springfield twice this season, losing 3-1 on each occasion.

"The best way to stop Springfield is for us to just focus on our game and stick to our strategy," said Hawks junior outside hitter Aaron Carrk. "We know what they've got and know what they're going to come at us with. Our morale is up and we feel like it's really our chance to prove ourselves."

"The team is feeling really prepared going into today," Carrk continued. "We feel like we have worked extremely hard to get to this point."

SUNY New Paltz has enjoyed playing when the lights are shining the brightest and have kept a cool head when coming under adversity, as proven in its win over the Gulls.

"We know that we can play our best on the big stage so we are really looking forward to getting out there and putting it all together," Carrk said.

For the seniors this game means a lot, with the last chance to win a National Championship on the table.

"It means everything to me and the team," said Hawks senior outside hitter Nick Smith. "We are so motivated to beat these guys and I believe we will, we are confident we will win. I think we will win the National Championship and bring it back to SUNY New Paltz where it belongs."

SUNY New Paltz will take on the defending National Champions Springfield College on Friday at 4 p.m. The winner will play in the NCAA Championship game at 6 p.m. Saturday at Kean University. 

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