The State University of New York at New Paltz women's volleyball team will look to erase its four-game losing streak as it enters a pair of State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) contests Sept. 27 and Sept. 28 to battle Fredonia and Buffalo State, respectively. 
 
The Hawks are currently 5-7 (0-1 SUNYAC) on the season thus far after dropping matches to Stockton University, Stevens Institute of Technology and Cabrini University Sept. 20 and Sept 21 at the Ducks Classic.  
 "We're seeing a lot of improvement in practice this week on the mental side of the game," said SUNY New Paltz coach Matt Giufre. "Everyone on the team is completely staying locked in and playing their position responsibilities much more consistently. We've been having trouble with almost fading in and out with finishing plays and not being either completely aware of a ball that needs to get played by from a certain position or just freezing on it. That's been a huge difference in practice this week." 
 
The leaders for the Hawks sees junior Haley Timarky with 392 assists. Senior Maddie Van Pelt has 120 kills tied to her name. Senior Nicole Fellone has posted 26 services aces, while also pacing the Hawks with 171 digs. Junior Demi Herasme has a team-high of 27 blocks with Neville right behind her with 26 blocks. SUNY New Paltz will look to continue to improve its .170 hitting percentage during the weekend. 
 
The Hawks will also seek to claim its first conference win of the season over the Blue Devils. Fredonia is currently 7-7 overall and 1-0 in conference play. The Blue Devils are coming out from a tight 3-2 loss from the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford. Prior to that game, Fredonia faced off against Battle By The Lake rival, Buffalo State, in their SUNYAC opener. The Blue Devils successfully grabbed a 3-1 win. 
 
During the 2018 season, SUNY New Paltz defeated Fredonia at SUNY Geneseo, 3-1. The most recent loss from the Blue Devils was during the 2017 season, which concluded, 3-1. 
 
Emma Booth paces Fredonia's offense with 159 kills. Kourtney Krchniak leads the team with 32 service aces and 536 assists. Emily Jones has collected 28 blocks, while Sierra Keim has totaled 251 digs. The Blue Devils enters the contest with a hitting percentage of .158. 
 
After dealing with Fredonia, SUNY New Paltz will travel to Buffalo State to face off against the Bengals. Buffalo State is 5-8 overall and 0-1 in the SUNYAC. The Bengals are coming out from a successful weekend after going 2-0 in the Utica College Tri-Match, defeating Cazenovia College and the hosting Pioneers, respectively. 
 
The Hawks have claimed five wins over Buffalo State within the past five seasons. Its latest win came last season where SUNY New Paltz captured a 3-0 win. 
 
For the Bengals, Eimile O'Brien sits on top with 122 kills. Brooke Federko is the leader with 353 assists. Alena McKelvey has totaled 25 assists, while Bryanna Fisher amassed 32 blocks. Additionally, Darion Jonathan has posted 195 digs for Buffalo State. 
 
First serve against the Blue Devils is scheduled for 6 p.m. start time. 
 
To follow along with live video, click here.

To follow along with live stats, click here. 

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.