New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz earned its fifth straight win, including second consecutive in the matter of 24 hours on its home court after defeating visiting St. Joseph's College-Long Island in four sets (19-25, 25-16, 25-18), 25-17) Thursday in the Hawk Center.
 
"I think right now we're rolling as a team and I think we got the momentum," said Hawks senior outside Chris Shanley. "It's always a great atmosphere when we come in and play St. Joe's you know, all a lot of us played together all the Long Island guys played together in club… it's just great to see them on the college level. So yeah, it's always a fun game."
 
SUNY New Paltz struggled in the opening set in getting any rhythm going offensively. The Hawks hit in the negative and totaled 10 of their 18 attacking errors in the first period alone, which helped the Golden Eagles get out to a 1-0 lead.
 
After dropping the first, SUNY New Paltz offense picked up in the final three sets including an efficient third where they hit .500 as a team with 16 kills to earn a momentum-shifting 2-1 lead heading into the fourth where they continued a dominant performance, registering only two errors while hitting just less 50 percent once again with 13 kills.
 
 
"To start off I think our passing and serve receive was really crisp today and I think Kyle [Shaffer] did a really good job dishing the ball around. He knew to run the pins on offense" Shanley said. "John [Ronan] and Pat [Wing] in the middle were just holding the block so single blocks just opened up on the pins the entire game."
 
The Hawks held a 9-7 lead in the second set before breaking the stanza open, scoring the next eight of 11 points to take a commanding 17-10 advantage. SJC-LI closed the gap to as close as five with three-straight points to cut the deficit 21-16, but the Hawks scored the final four points to tie the match at a set apiece. Brendan Spulnick served through the run, registering a pair of aces, including at set point, with Shanley finishing with a kill on a set from Kyle Shaffer to help their team to a 25-16 victory.
  SUNY New Paltz never trailed in the second and although the Golden Eagles stayed within a couple points the majority of the set, even creeping as close as two at 18-16, the Hawks stayed sharp and a four-point swing helped them close out the third set. Shanley got the stretch started with a kill off a set from Shaffer who served out the next three points. The senior setter found John Ronan in the middle a point later to extend SUNY New Paltz's cushion, 21-16 before Ronan and freshman Evan Kane got up for a big double block to give their team the largest lead of the period at 22-16. A service error and a kill by Kane put the hosts at set point and Kane finished off the third with a kill a point later with Shaffer on the assist. 
 
The fourth was tight from the start, tallying two lead changes and three knotted scores before SUNY New Paltz started pulling away midway through with three-straight points following a service error, a kill by Wing and an ace from Kane to get out in front, 19-15. Kane served long to end the streak, but the Hawks quickly sided out and went on a 4-0 run with Wing as the catalyst, as he registered two kills and a block in the stretch. Tim Drake smashed a kill from the outside to push SUNY New Paltz to match point and doubled down with another spike to end the match following the 25-17 fourth set victory.
 
After totaling 12 aces in the win Wednesday against Bard, the Hawks recorded 11 against the Golden Eagles with senior Brendan Spulnick setting a career-high with eight aces on the night — which also ranked eighth-most in a four set match in program history — while also leading the team in points (18) following a nine-kill performance. Shanley and Kane each tallied a game-high 12 kills, as Shanley hit .526 on the night with an ace and five digs, while Kane added an ace and three blocks. Shaffer had a solid night distributing the ball around to seven different hitters who finished with at least one kill and ended the match with 37 assists, an ace, two blocks and three digs.
 
SUNY New Paltz is back in the Hawk Center Wednesday with rival and No. 1 nationally ranked Springfield College. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.
 
"I think it gives us a lot of momentum," Shanley said. "We started the season pretty slow in my opinion, slower than in seasons past. So, I think going into the Springfield game, you know, they're ranked number one and we're not ranked right now, so it's a David versus Goliath situation and I think we have the momentum. And if we can play clean then we can come away with an upset my opinion."

Post-Game Interview Featuring Chris Shanley


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