Starting the season with two wins against No. 14 Stevenson (2-1) and No. 6 Benedectine (2-1), the State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team hits the road this weekend, heading to Huntingdon, Pennsylvania to face Juniata College (3-0), Southern Virginia (2-1) and Hiram College (2-0).
The Hawks are coming off a national championship and senior blocker Tevin Skeete knows that everyone will have a point to prove against SUNY New Paltz.
"We know that we won a national championship last year but that's all behind us now," said Skeete. "Everyone will come fired up to play against us, but we got to just bring the business to every game and play the way we know how."
Skeete also talked about the team depth, saying that the 20 man roster is prepared to handle any adversity aimed their way. Head coach Radu Petrus told his guys he was looking at everyone closely during each practice to see who is ready to step up this weekend.
The team needs to get ready and stay focused, with the cold conditions and five hour drive to the game making things harder to stay ready and in game-time mode.
"Even though we're back in the cold, we're still fired up to play and get these wins," Skeete added.
SUNY New Paltz just recently returned from a team trip to the Dominican Republic where it faced off with international competition, but also got to build up camaraderie, and enjoy some sunshine. It was a good time to create a stronger relationship with the guys on the team, living together for a week and getting to know each other better in the process.
The level of competition will be high Friday and Saturday, with Juniata College being ranked No. 12 and Southern Virginia ranked No. 11, a team that the Hawks has rarely faced in the past.
SUNY New Paltz travels to Huntingdon for a 7.30 p.m. tip-off on Friday against Juniata, before its double-header Saturday against Southern Virginia at 12.30 p.m. and Hiram at 2.30 p.m.
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