New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team (6-1) played crosstown rival Vassar College (7-2) at the Hawk Center Wednesday night in a game that ended up being disappointing for the Hawks, who twice had the lead in the game. 
 
SUNY New Paltz lost in five sets (25-21, 18-25, 25-18, 23-25, 12-15). The Brewers tied up the match at 1-1 and 2-2, gaining momentum at critical times in the game before winning the final set even with the Hawks making a late run.
 
"I think we didn't play our best tonight," said SUNY New Paltz sophomore serving specialist Dan LaRosa. "They put pressure on us behind the service line and we didn't serve well."
 
The Hawks struggled to get going in the first, as the Brewers were ready to fight for every point. Vassar maintained a slim lead early thanks to good offensive play, but five service errors inside the first half of the set kept SUNY New Paltz within reach at 14-13. 
 
 
The Hawks kept pushing and took a 19-18 lead with a kill by senior middle blocker Nick O'Malley after two digs by senior libero Robert Nolan kept them in the possession. Another O'Malley kill, his fourth of the set, gave SUNY New Paltz a three-point lead at 21-18.
 
Senior outside hitter Aaron Carrk tallied his seventh kill to bring the Hawks to 24-21, before a great block by sophomore middle blocker John Ronan and senior opposite Riley Dolan won the set, 25-21.
 
The beginning of the second set was electric, with some long rallies by the teams, as Carrk spiked twice in a play, scoring the second time off a deflected block to get the crowd going. The Brewers were not going to back down though, and doubled up the Hawks early, 8-4. 
 
Vassar kept playing quick, efficient offense and forced SUNY New Paltz head coach Radu Petrus into a timeout at 14-8 for the visitors. The universities exchanged service errors as Vassar College took a 20-12 lead, with the Hawks looking to rediscover their rhythm, but the Brewers were able to take the set.  
In the third set SUNY New Paltz kept it's cool early, exchanging points, and gained an 11-7 lead to force a Vassar timeout. Right out of the gate, sophomore outside hitter Brendan Spulnick won a solo block, and another defensive play by the Hawks pushed them up 15-8. Spulnick continued to dominate, jumping off one leg to get another point. A service error by Brewer freshman Gavin Van Beveren gave the Hawks a 21-14 lead, before they won the set 25-18.
 
Seniors O'Malley and Carrk entered the fourth set with 11 and 12 kills, respectively. Brewer senior Kevin Ros also notched 12 kills in the first three sets, followed by junior Jefferson Waters at nine.
 
In the fourth, O'Malley spiked a kill and followed it up with an ace to bring the Hawks within three at 7-4. SUNY New Paltz fought back, tightening the gap to 14-13 in the middle of the set, and Carrk had two more kills to keep the fans on the edge of their seats. The Brewers managed to stay ahead by a small margin, before Carrk again fired the Hawks to within one, but a service error by SUNY New Paltz lost the set, 25-23.
 
The fifth set started poorly for the hosts, going down 6-3 and forced to call a timeout. Carrk notched two more kills, and senior middle blocker Tevin Skeete tallied a kill to make it 7-6. Down 13-9, O'Malley served an ace, and the Hawks fought to within one at 13-12 with some great offense, firing up the crowd, but it wasn't enough as the early lead helped Vassar close out the win.
 
"We know this is going to sting," LaRosa added. "We're gonna use this as fuel to add to the fire for Springfield coming up, another tough battle."
 
Carrk finished with a game-high 21 kills on a .486 hitting percentage, while O'Malley had 15 kills with a .591 hitting percentage.
 
SUNY New Paltz's next game is against Springfield College on Feb. 7 at 6 p.m. at the International Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic.

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