Springfield, MA — The State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team (6-2) lost on the road to tournament host Springfield College (8-1) in five sets Friday night in the opening day of the International Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic.
 
The Hawks fell, 3-2 (23-25, 27-25, 25-19, 15-25, 15-10) in a thrilling five-set match in which they managed to take a 2-1 lead, but could not take advantage in the fifth set, as the Pride gained a big lead early and managed to hold on to earn the victory against their Division III rivals. 
 
SUNY New Paltz took back the lead after Springfield pushed ahead in the match, 1-0, but could not finish the game and lost their second in a row in a tough matchup against the No. 2 team in the nation. Hawks captain Matthew Grace had 39 assists on the night, bringing him to within 10 of breaking the school record of 3,709 assists for SUNY New Paltz. 
 
Senior outside hitter Aaron Carrk led SUNY New Paltz with 15 kills, followed by middle blocker Nick O'Malley and sophomore Brendan Spulnick who each recorded 11 kills at the Blake Arena on Friday night. 
 
The Hawks face Rivier University in day two of the International Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic on the campus of Springfield College at 6 p.m. Saturday. 

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