Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Elmira, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team made the 180-mile trip to Elmira, NY to face United Volleyball Conference rival St. John Fisher College (5-2 overall, 3-2 UVC) in a doubleheader match up Saturday with both games going to five sets.
 
Adding to the tough road trip and back-to-back, the Hawks (0-2 overall, 0-2 UVC) were shorthanded for the trip, without a handful of starters including All-American opposite Aaron Carrk. However, despite the circumstances they battled back in both games against the Cardinals and narrowly came away with triumphant victories, but ended up falling, 3-2 in both outings ((22-25, 21-25, 25-23, 25-22, 14-16) and (23-25, 26-24, 21-25, 26-24, 11-15) respectively).
 
"To play back-to-back was a challenge for both volleyball teams," said SUNY New Paltz coach Radu Petrus. "Today we missed too many opportunities to score. It was our first matches this season and St. John Fisher volleyball team members were more motivated to win." 
All-American senior setter Matthew Grace tied a program record with 73 assists in a five-set match in game one, matching a record set by Robert Manosca in 1998.
 
SUNY New Paltz showed its resiliency early. After dropping the first two opening sets of the night, the defending national champions were on the cusp of getting swept in their season opener. However, hard-fought third and fourth sets pushed the game into a deciding fifth. 
 
Grace totaled 17 assists in the third, helping senior outside Connor MacPhail and junior outside Brendan Spulnick to eight and 12 kills in the set, respectively. The two teams knotted the score 11 times throughout the third, including at 21-21. Back-to-back kills by SUNY New Paltz's All-American middle blocker Nick O'Malley and MacPhail gave the team a two-point advantage late in the stanza. A service error got the Cardinals within one, but the Hawks answered with a kill by Matthew Amberge that pushed the score to set point. Another service error kept St. John Fisher's hopes of a sweep alive, but MacPhail sealed the third-set victory with an emphatic swing that earned his team a 25-23 win.
 
Another tight start to the fourth, the Hawks gained momentum midway through the period. A 6-2 run helped them establish a four-point cushion at 12-8, which allowed SUNY New Paltz to remain in front the rest of the set. Its biggest lead came at 19-14, following consecutive kills by Sam Yakubowski and Spulnick. The Cardinals closed the gap at 22-20 and then 22-21 before an attacking error resulted in the Hawks' lead shrinking to just 23-22, but St. John Fisher returned the favor with a service error to bring the score to set point. MacPhail once again sealed the victory for SUNY New Paltz, putting down a kill off an assist from Grace.
 
The Hawks were just a point away from taking the game one victory, owning a 14-10 lead in the fifth and deciding set, but errors prevented them from securing match point. In the next six Cardinals points, SUNY New Paltz committed five attacking errors and a service error to allow St. John Fisher take the fifth, 14-16.
The Cardinals took their momentum into game two and handily earned the first set with a 13-25.
 
SUNY New Paltz came back to win the second set after the score was tied 22, 23 and 24-all following an ace by MacPhail and then a set-sealing block by Grace and O'Malley to earn the 26-24 victory. St. John Fisher took the third, 25-21, but the Hawks grinded out another 26-24 win in the fourth and extended the game to another five-set match.
 
Tied at eight in the final set, St. John Fisher earned two straight points to gain a cushion. SUNY New Paltz cut the score to one twice at 9-10 and again at 10-11, but it was the closest the Hawks got in gaining control of the match. The Cardinals finished the game on a 4-1 run, including three-straight points to cement the 11-15 win.
 
Next up for SUNY New Paltz is the No. 4 ranked Vassar Brewers who will visit the Hawk Center for a doubleheader Wednesday.
 

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