With a 10-match winning streak on the line, the No. 13 ranked State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team heads northeast to Chicopee, MA Saturday to take on Elms College and high-flying Rutgers-Newark in a tri-match.
The Hawks open against the home standing Blazers at 1 pm Saturday. Elms currently holds a 7-10 record, losing two matches this week, 3-0 to Nichols Tuesday and 3-0 to Rivier on Thursday. In 16 (no stats available for Thursday's match) matches this season, the Blazers are averaging 9.65 kills per set, nine assists per set, 1.74 blocks per set, 9.56 digs per set, 1.87 service aces per set, with a hitting percent of .179.
Top players for Elms have been senior setter Carlos Mercado (6'1, Barranquitas, PR) who leads the team in kills and follows closely in assists; senior opposite Luis Martinez (6'0, Bayamon, PR) who leads in assists and follows Mercado in kills; junior libero/defensive specialist Collin Liedke (5'9, Newington, CT) is tops in digs, with Martinez and Mercado following; senior outside hitter Antonio Delgado Rolon (5'8, Aibonito, PR) and senior outside hitter Pedro De Jesus (5'11, East Hartford, CT) have also contributed consistently for the Blazers.
The 3 p.m. match pits the AVCA's No. 8 team, Rutgers-Newark, against the AVCA No. 13 team, SUNY New Paltz. The game looks to be one of the key matchups in Division III this year. The Scarlet Raiders enter the match with a 13-2 record. This week they defeated No. 11 ranked NYU in straight sets and Thursday night captured the NJAC men's volleyball championship for the second straight year with a 3-1 victory over Kean University. 
Rutgers-Newark has been averaging 12.9 kills per set, 12.2 assists per set, 1.9 service aces per set, 8.5 digs per set and 1.7 blocks per set with a team hitting percent of .264.
Two juniors lead the Scarlet Raiders in kills, right side Andrew Zaleck (6'3, Old Bridge, NJ) with 185 and outside hitter Arvind Kumar (6'1, Manahawkin, NJ) with 177. Junior libero Matt Nikishin has 119 digs, followed by Kumar with 79 and Zaleck with 65. Sophomore setter Derek Au (6'0, Orlando, FL) has 570 assists; junior middle hitter Daniel Quay (6'6, Yardley, PA) is tops in blocks with 45, followed by Au with 28, junior middle blocker Martin Chromulak (6'7, Garfield, NJ) with 24 and Zalek with 21. Zaleck and Kumar are one-two in service aces with 26 and 21 respectively. In the NJAC championship match against Kean, Zaleck had 20 kills, Kumar with 18 kills, Au had 46 assists and Quay had six blocks.
The Hawks bring a 14-3 record to the match having defeated Milwaukee School of Engineering 3-0 and Russell Sage 3-0 on Wednesday night. The Hawks have been averaging 12.3 kills per set, 11.1 assists per set, 2.32 service aces per set, 9.2 digs per set, and 1.6 blocks per set. SUNY New Paltz is hitting at a hefty .263 percent.
Junior middle blocker Pat Wing (6'4, Massapequa, NY) leads with 137 kills, followed by seniors Chris Shanley (OH/6'3, Smithtown, NY) with 121 and Brendan Spulnick (OH/6'4, Clifton Park, NY). Senior libero Dan LaRosa (6'0, Lake Grove, NY) is tops in digs with 147; Shanley with 70 and Spulnick with 60 are next. Senior setters Kyle Shaffer (6'4, Smithtown, NY) and Cam Clark (6'2, Farmington, NY) have 365 and 209 assists respectively. Wing and senior middle blocker John Ronan (6'6, Massapequa, NY) have 37 and 33 blocks to their credit. Lastly, Spulnick with 39 service aces, Wing with 23 service aces and Shanley with 13 service aces have added instant offense for the Hawks.
After their trip to Massachusetts, SUNY New Paltz returns home to host perennial DIII power Springfield College March 10 at 6 pm. The next night DI St. Francis College-Brooklyn faces off against the Hawks at 7 pm.
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