New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz hosted the first day of the New Paltz Challenge Friday and came away with two clean sweeps of Misercordia University and Drew University to improve to 13-2 overall and remain unbeaten at home.
 
The Hawks, coming off a pair of 3-0 victories over Plattsburgh State and SUNY Potsdam a weekend ago, was finally back in the Hawk Center after six-straight matches on the road. SUNY New Paltz continued playing high-level volleyball and defeated the Cougars handily, 25-16, 25-17, 25-17, before taking care of the Rangers, 25-22, 25-20, 25-23.
 
Last season, Drew overpowered a then young Hawks team in three sets on its home floor, and SUNY New Paltz, which returned most of its roster from last season, was happy to return the favor in an exciting match.
 
"It felt really good," said Hawks junior outside hitter Mackenzie Williams. "We put in a lot of work in the offseason and we were definitely ready for a really good game. We all came out, played our hardest and it was really good."
 
There were long points during each set, but SUNY New Paltz battled to take a 22-18 lead in the first. The Hawks were two points away from closing out the 1-0 lead at 23-19, but the Rangers rallied to get within one which led to a timeout by SUNY New Paltz coach Matt Giufre. The stoppage of play allowed the Hawks to regroup with Cate DiGiacomo feeding Victoria Konicki for a kill to set up set point. Dana Collins served hard on the next point and Drew hit into the net, giving SUNY New Paltz the lead.
 
In the second, the match was tied at 18 before Katie Steele got going for a kill followed by Perez on a free ball. Collins again served through the momentum-shift as she helped cap the 3-0 run with another attacking error by the Rangers. A point later, the Hawks answered with another 3-0 stretch leading to set point, this time aided by DiGiacomo on the serve with the second closing out on a service error by Drew.
 
 
The third was knotted nine different times with the Rangers holding a two-point lead at 18-16. Letisha Perez and Williams helped tie the set at 20 on back-to-back kills, but Drew re-took the lead on a ball handling error on the next point. Williams then took over in the final points smashing consecutive kills on the outside to bring her team up, 23-22. The Rangers tied the score one last time on a kill by Melina Christodoulou, but DiGiacomo went back to Williams who hit another down the line for set point with Steele putting the game away with a kill on an assist by DiGiacomo.
 
Williams led the way with 18 kills on 41 attempts and hit .268 in the match, while also recording 12 digs. Steele and Perez followed with 11 and 10 kills, respectively, while DiGiacomo finished with 33 assists and 17 digs, only behind senior libero Mia Waddell who had 19 — 12 of which came in the first set. Melanie Podstupka followed with 14 digs, while Haylee Scarincio totaled a career-high 11.
 
"Everybody was really holding their blocker, and everybody was putting down balls, so it made it a lot better for everybody out there. There were a lot of single blocks and late blocks," Williams said.
 
Before their win over Drew, the Hawks opened up the day's slate of matches against Misericordia. They served well in the match and totaled 12 service aces including a career-high six aces from Williams who also finished with a game-high 11 kills, hitting .429 in the win.
  SUNY New Paltz jumped out to a 16-6 advantage in the first set following a 7-0 run with DiGiacomo serving through the stretch, as the junior setter went to Steele who registered four kills to aid in the 10-point lead. The Cougars rallied to get within 23-16, but a kill by Konicki on a set from DiGiacomo pushed the Hawks to set point with Waddell ending the first on an ace.
 
SUNY New Paltz pulled away midway through the second set with Scarincio the beneficiary, serving through a two-point run, capped with an ace. Faith Merritt gave Misericordia back serve, but the Hawks answered with four straight points on kills by DiGiacomo and Steele and aces by Williams to push the hosts lead, 19-12. The Cougars ultimately helped SUNY New Paltz to set point, serving into the net with Waddell again coming through on an ace to push the Hawks up, 2-0.
 
The Cougars held a three-point lead in the third before SUNY New Paltz tied the score at 13-all following an ace by Podstupka. Shelby Hastings won back the advantage one last time for Misericordia on a kill, but back-to-back attacking errors and a third ace by Waddell gave SUNY New Paltz the 16-14 cushion it never gave up the rest of the way. At 20-17, the Hawks rattled off five-straight points with Williams finishing the game with four straight aces for the win.
 
Konicki followed Williams offensively with nine kills and three blocks, while DiGiacomo registered 22 assists and two blocks.
 
SUNY New Paltz is back in the Hawk Center for day two of the New Paltz Challenge Tournament, facing Suffolk University at 11 a.m. before taking on Manhattanville to conclude the afternoon at 4 p.m.

Post-Game Interview with Mackenzie Williams


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