New Paltz, NY -- The State University of New York at New Paltz suffered its third loss of the season Friday night in the Hawk Center, falling to former United Volleyball Conference (UVC) rival No. 4 Stevens Institute of Technology, 3-1 (26-24, 31-29, 26-28, 25-20).

Three of four sets went past 25 points, while each team hit over .300 on the night but the difference was serve-receive, as the Ducks passed slightly better than the No. 2 Hawks, suffering just three receiving errors in the match and totaling five aces.

"The problem tonight was the serve receive," said SUNY New Paltz coach Radu Petrus. "They were better servers than us and I didn't expect that. They were better servers and better receivers, and that will make a difference. There were a few balls over there and we lost the second set. That hurt us a lot. If we tied the first one than maybe it's a different story. Always about us, it is about a few balls over there and we are not ready yet. We have room for improvement."

The first set was tied 11 times before SUNY New Paltz jumped out to a 16-14 lead thanks to back-to-back kills by John Ronan and Chris Shanley. Stevens worked its way back to tie the set at 18-all and then took the lead following an attacking error by Nick O'Malley. The score was tied at 19, 21, 22, 23 and 24-all with the Hawks seeing a 23-22 advantage following a kill by O'Malley, but the Ducks again came back to re-gain the lead after a kill by David Lehman and attacking error by Carrk. Shanley tied the set once more, but a service error and miss-communication on set point, which saw a free ball land in-bounds, gave the Ducks a 26-24 first set victory.
 

The second stanza mirrored the first with the score tied eight times throughout the set. SUNY New Paltz took its largest lead at 22-18 after consecutive kills by O'Malley and Carrk, but Stevens countered with a 6-1 run, including three-straight points to knot the set at 23. A service error ignited the mini-unanswered Ducks run to cut the deficit to 21-23. Jonathan Frenzel added on to get Stevens within a point, and the Hawks were then caught out of rotation, which allowed the visitors to tie the set at 23. Stevens added another point on the following play, getting a double block by Lehmen and Frenzel to take the lead, but the SUNY New Paltz responded with a kill from Tevin Skeete and big block by Spulnick to get to set point. The Hawks couldn't put the set away, however, as the Ducks fought back to gain a 28-27 advantage, before ultimately ending the set on a block by Ryan Byrne at 31-29.
  The third set also extended past 25, but SUNY New Paltz was determined to push the game to a fourth frame. The Hawks had another late lead, going up by three following kills by Spulnick to push the cushion to 21-18. Stevens totaled consecutive points and eventually tied the set at 22 on a SUNY New Paltz attacking error. The score was knotted at 24, 25 and 26 before Spulnick put his team at set point with a kill. Carrk then ended the third after a long rally. Spulnick dove to save a ball heading just inside the back line with Grace hitting a one-handed set to O'Malley who knocked it back over the net. Carrk got the dig on the ensuing attack from the Ducks, giving Grace a good pass to back-set to Carrk who smacked a kill passed two blockers, ending the set for the Hawks.

SUNY New Paltz's momentum halted there, however, unable to force a deciding fifth set. The Hawks had an early 6-4 lead, but Stevens scored three-straight to re-gain control and never withheld the lead from that point on. They cut the deficit to four several times down the stretch, including at 22-18 and 23-19, but SUNY New Paltz served into the net both times, which allowed the Ducks to get to match point, ending the game on a kill at 25-20.

"[There were] some easy mistakes and for this maybe we need more chemistry," Petrus said. "We do this in practice, but it's a little bit early and it's tough. Also, we have two new outside hitters and they do the receiving, so it is tough to work over there and it is about chemistry. There was miss-communication sometimes and with this kind of game it's tough. With a few balls we can win or we can [lose]."

Carrk led the team with 20 kills, hitting .262, while adding five digs and accounted for 20 points on the night. Spulnick followed with 19 kills, hitting .242, while adding seven digs, three blocks and 24.5 points. Shanley earned the start and had a solid night, finishing with a career-high in kills (11) and hitting percentage (.450).

"Chris was good," said Petrus after the game.

Grace, meanwhile, who was recognized prior to the game for becoming the program's new all-time assist leader, finished with a game- and career-high 65 assists, which ranked fifth-most all-time in a four set match in Hawks history.

SUNY New Paltz dropped to 10-3 overall with the loss, while Stevens improved to 12-1. The Hawks are back on the floor Feb. 26 when the return to UVC play on the road against Bard.

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