New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz women's volleyball team couldn't take its momentum from an impressive opening set against visiting SUNY Geneseo Friday and instead dropped three straight to lose, 3-1 to the Knights in the Hawk Center.
 
The Hawks (12-8 overall, 7-1 SUNYAC) held Geneseo (10-11, 5-3) to just a .029 hitting percentage in set one, while in turn, totaling eight kills themselves in the first, as sophomore setter Cate DiGiacomo assisted four different players with junior middle hitter Victoria Konicki leading the way, finishing with kills on three of four swings.  
 
The Knights held the early 4-3 advantage to start, but a 5-0 run put SUNY New Paltz in front and it never withheld the lead in the stanza from that point forward. A kill by Linda Rossi was the last point Geneseo earned in the set, as the Hawks ended the period with three-straight points including kills by Konicki and Katie Steele to earn the 1-0 match lead.
 
The Knights up their play in the following three sets and were carried by their serving game. SUNY New Paltz finished with 10 receiving errors, but the brunt of the loss fell on their offense, which finished hitting just .128. Mackenzie Williams was the lone bright spot offensively, as the sophomore totaled a career-high 19 of the Hawks' 44 kills in the game and finished with 19.5 points — also a career-high — to lead the way for her team.
 
 
In the second, SUNY New Paltz held a 14-11 lead, but seven unanswered points turned the momentum to the Knights who then rolled to a 25-18 win. The Hawks fought back to get within three at 21-18 following a kill by Williams, but Geneseo closed out with four consecutive points including an ace at set point.
 
A good sequence in the third tied the match at 12 for the hosts, as DiGiacomo continued going to Williams on the outside with the Windsor, NY native capitalizing with three kill, while DiGiacomo added an ace in the stretch to knot the score. SUNY New Paltz never gained the advantage and continued to dig out of a hole. The two teams exchanged points but following a kill by Konicki to make the score 18-15 in favor of the Knights, the visitors closed out after scoring eight of the next nine points, capped once again with an ace at set point to win the set, 25-16. 
The Hawks held the early lead in the fourth, but an attacking error tied the set at 11. Geneseo finally took the lead on a kill by Rossi and a hitting error by Williams. SUNY New Paltz gained back a point on a service error, but the Knights quickly sided out with a kill and proceeded to score the next four points to own a 17-13 cushion that the Hawks never overcame.
 
SUNY New Paltz rallied as close as five following a block by Letisha Perez and Ceci Brooks at 23-18, but the Hawks hit into the net the following two points to allow Geneseo to come away with the set, 25-18, and the match, 3-1.
 
To go along with her performance offensively, Williams also added 13 digs and a block to her stat line. Konicki followed with seven kills and four digs. DiGiacomo led her team with 33 assists, two aces and 14 digs. Melanie Podstupka also finished with 14 digs, a career-high for the freshman, while libero Mia Waddell finished with a team-high 19 digs, while adding three assists and a kill.

Lone seniors Nicole Cooke and Hannah Miller were honored prior to the match. Cooke finished with two aces and nine digs, while Miller contributed two kills on five attempts and two digs in the match.
 
The Hawks close out SUNYAC play Saturday when they head back to the Hawk Center to face The College at Brockport at 1 p.m.

Hawks vs. Geneseo GAME HIGHLIGHTS


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