Fredonia, NY --- After losing four straight games, the State University of New York at New Paltz women's volleyball team picked up its first State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) victory Friday over Fredonia, 3-1 (25-14, 16-25, 25-17, 25-20). The win boosts the Hawks' record to 6-7 on the year (1-1 SUNYAC), while the Blue Devils drop to 7-8 overall (1-1 SUNYAC). 
 
"We are very happy to pick up an important SUNYAC win," said SUNY New Paltz coach Matt Giufre. "Overall I thought our character and toughness stayed very steady through the ups and downs of the match. Our blockers and defenders did a really good job positioning themselves to make it tough for Fredonia to score. Demi [Herasme] and Kerri [Neville] were a constant presence offensively all night with Courtney [Gebhardt] coming off the bench and picking up some big kills. I thought Haley [Timarky] did a great job running our offense and creating matchups that worked in our favor." 
The first set began with the Hawks jumping out to a comfortable 9-3 lead. Fredonia scored three consecutive points to cut the score, 14-8 with a pair of kills by Emily Jones and Emma Booth and an attack error from SUNY New Paltz. The Hawks returned the favor after kills by Herasme and Timarky improved the score to 20-9. SUNY New Paltz never looked back and secured a 25-14 win after an attack error from Emily Jones closed the set out. 
 
Despite the Blue Devils tying the game at one after taking a 16-25 win in set two, the Hawks started the third set explosive, building a 14-3 lead after a kill by sophomore MaKenzie Bills. A kill from Brin Shaughnessy and two mistakes from Herasme made the score 16-9. The Blue Devils cut the deficit to 23-16 after scoring four consecutive points with two kills by Booth and Jones and a bad set from Timarky, but SUNY New Paltz buckled down and finished the set with a 25-17 victory after an attack error from Emily Leone. 
 
Fredonia jumped out to 0-3 lead in set four, but three combined kills from senior Maddie Van Pelt and senior Kerri Neville and and attack error from Leone pushed the Hawks ahead early at 4-3. 
 
A kill from Herasme made the score 13-9, but the Blue Devils scored four straight points after a kill and two service aces from Kourtney Krchniak to tie the score at 13. Just before Fredonia was getting ready to take a lead, Timarky responded with a kill to put her team in front again, 14-13. Emily Jones' kill gave the foes their first lead of the set, 15-16, but SUNY New Paltz came back from behind and was unstoppable, scoring eight straight points to improve its advantage to 23-17. A kill from Neville and Bills sealed the deal for the Hawks, stealing a 25-20 set four win, and a 3-1 victory over the Blue Devils. 

The game leaders for SUNY New Paltz saw Herasme on top with a team high of 11 kills and 13 points, while hitting an impressive .455. Neville finished the contest with nine kills, a service ace, four digs and 12 points. 

Timarky collected 35 assists and four kills. Furthermore, Timarky, Van Pelt and Neville all finished with one service ace each with Van Pelt also adding eight kills. Freshman Mia Waddell and Fellone both tied with a team-high 13 digs each. Additionally, Fellone also contributed three assists in the win. 
 
The Hawks will look to collect back-to-back wins Saturday, as it travels to Buffalo State to close out the weekend. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. 
 
"Tomorrow against a tough Buffalo State team, we need to have the same emotional steadiness while serving and passing strong to use all of our hitting weapons," Giufre said. "It's sure to be another battle as all conference matches are."
 
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