After a tough weekend to open up the 2021 season, missing multiple starters along the rotation, the Hawks are looking to bounce back in a highly anticipated home-opening tournament against Mount Saint Mary's College, Russell Sage College and Alfred University Friday and Saturday in the Hawk Center.
 
"After two years it feels really, really exciting to finally play on our home court again," said SUNY New Paltz junior libero Mia Waddell. "Having our friends and family here will add a lot of extra momentum going into this weekend. And it will give us the fight to play really well."
 
The Hawks (0-5 overall) are still looking for its first win of the season. They came close in their first two games of the year against Western Connecticut and Union College with both matches going into five sets. The inexperience on the roster showed in those instances, however, as SUNY New Paltz forced a deciding fifth set but couldn't close out in the final stanza.
  The team then had a daunting task of taking on Babson College and Johnson & Wales in the Johnson & Wales Tournament Sept. 4-5. The two opposing programs have frequented the NCAA Tournament and regional rankings throughout the year, and it showed against the young Hawks, as they fell in straight sets to both opponents. In their final match of the tournament against Clark University, SUNY New Paltz fought to tie the game after dropping the first set, winning the second, 25-23. However, the Hawks dropped the last two sets, 14-25 and 18-25 to lose the match in four. 
 
"This weekend was tough for us, missing a few really important players, but we definitely learned a lot about our team, and we definitely grew from the experience," Waddell said. "Moving forward we know exactly what we need to focus on and we're going to fix everything to become better as a team."
 
Throughout their first five games, the Hawks' biggest struggle was in their serving game. They allowed more than 50 aces through their first five matches and totaled 45-plus receiving errors. Their self-inflicted wounds carried over offensively as well, as they're hitting just .085 as a team and average less than nine kills a set.
 
"Serving and serve-receive was definitely one of our biggest weaknesses this past weekend, but we've really focused on improving those skills for this weekend, so hopefully we'll be better," said Waddell.
 
The bright spot though was the play of freshmen middles Lauren Abbott and Letisha Perez. The two were the most efficient hitters over the weekend with Abbott even playing some right side with the absence of starter Makenzie Bills. The Binghamton, NY native leads the team with a .419 hitting percentage, totaling 17 kills on 31 attempts, while also adding five blocks in her first five collegiate games. Perez has been equally impressive, as she currently paces the team in points, averaging 2.3 per set, is registering a team-best 29 kills, while hitting .257 and adding five blocks on the year. 
"Lauren and Letisha, they played really well this past weekend and they got thrown into some positions that they've never played before, but they really stepped up and played really well," Waddell said. "I'm looking forward to what they can do in the future."
 
Waddell is one of four players to start every set thus far and leads the team with 69 total digs and is tied for the team-most with four aces.
 
The Hawks will open up the Hawks Invitational Friday at 5 p.m., taking on the Knights who enter the weekend at 2-1, including two sweeps of Wells and Hilbert College at the Keuka Tournament. The hosts will then start day two with an 11 a.m. match against the Saxons before concluding the tournament with a 5 p.m. contest against the Gators.
 
Alfred is 1-3 on the year with its only win coming Sept. 3 in a 3-0 sweep against SUNY Canton, while Sage is also 1-3 after losing three-straight following a season-opening five-set victory over SUNY Delhi. One of Sage's losses came on the road against Hawks SUNYAC rival, Oswego State with the Lakers owning a 3-1 victory over the Gators.
 
"This weekend I'm really expecting our team to come together after last weekend and fight really hard to put some wins on our record," added Waddell.
 
To view the full Hawks Invitational Tournament schedule, click here.

In-person spectators are allowed to watch live in the Hawks Center, however, masks will be mandated regardless of vaccination status. Those who can't attend can watch live through Playsight.


 
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