Lisle, IL — The State University of New York at New Paltz split its doubleheader Thursday, earning a straight-set sweep over No. 12 Dominican University before falling to hosting Benedictine in five.
 
The No. 7 Hawks (2-1 overall) rolled to their first top-15 win after defeating the Stars (25-16, 25-22, 25-11) to open up day two of their Midwest trip.
 
SUNY New Paltz was efficient offensively, hitting .370 in the match, including a near perfect third set where they totaled 12 kills on 14 attempts, hitting .857 in the period with Kyle Shaffer totaling nine of his game-high 26 assists and Pat Wing registering seven of his game-high 13 kills.
 
After trailing by two early to open up the match, SUNY New Paltz went on a 6-0 run and never lost the lead from that point forward. Dominican got as close as 22-16, but the Hawks finished the set with three-straight points on a kill by Wing and two-straight aces by Brendan Spulnick.
 
The Stars got out hot again to begin the second, taking a 4-0 lead before Spulnick gave his team the first point of the period with a kill off an assist from Shaffer. A kill by Jarod Hesse pushed Dominican to a 12-10 advantage, but a service error propelled a 6-0 run by the Hawks with Shaffer serving through the set as the senior capped the stretch with an ace to put his team ahead, 16-12.
 
After the Stars tied the set at 17, AJ Fitzgerald gave SUNY New Paltz back the lead with John Ronan then serving through a five-point unanswered run that was highlighted by two big blocks by Wing and Krish Jain and capped with back-to-back hitting errors by Dominican. A service error pushed the Hawks to set point with Spulnick ending the second with a kill two points later off another assist by Shaffer.
 
The third set went by quick as SUNY New Paltz were up 20-6 before getting to match point at 24-10 with Jain putting the finishing touches on the win with his fourth kill of the game.
 
Spulnick led the team with 16.5 points, which mostly came from a season-high seven aces while also adding three blocks, two digs and seven kills. Wing added two aces, two blocks and six digs to go along with his 13 kills as he hit a productive .500 in the match. Shaffer finished with a season-high five aces to go along with two kills, a dig and 26 assists.
 
The Hawks couldn't close out their second match of the night, however, allowing the Eagles to stick around and extend the match to five sets before ultimately falling, 25-21, 20-25, 25-21, 21-25, 12-15.
 
SUNY New Paltz hit at a .268 clip in the game, but Benedictine countered with 58 kills on 129 attempts for a .318 hitting percentage. Spulnick was the catalyst once again for the Hawks, as he finished with 17 kills (.419), five aces, two blocks and eight digs. Wing followed with 13 kills, an assist, two aces and five digs. Shaffer was the benefactor, totaling a game-high 42 assists with six kills, four blocks and a game-high 18 digs.  
The Hawks closed out the third set after the score was tied at 19 apiece. Wing helped his team to three-straight points with a kill, then serving the next two points, forcing the Eagles into a hitting error before Shaffer capped the stretch with a kill off an assist by Fitzgerald. Shaffer set Spulnick who delivered with a hard swing to put his team at set point and a double block by Spulnick and Ronan shut the second and nudged the Hawks ahead, 2-1.
 
SUNY New Paltz had an opportunity to end the match in the fourth after Fitzgerald tied the score at 21 on a kill, but the Eagles closed the period with four-straight points to force a deciding fifth set.
 
Two service errors handed the Hawks their only lead of the final frame at 1-0 and 2-1, but the Eagles took control early on and never relinquished control. The hosts held an 11-6 cushion before SUNY New Paltz scored five of the next six points to cut the deficit to 11-12. A service error pushed the Eagles up by two before Wing cut the difference in half on a strong swing for a kill on the next point. The rally stopped there, however, as Benedictine got to match point following a kill by Brannen Almarales and ending the game on an attacking error by Fitzgerald.
 
The Hawks will look to bounce back Friday night with another tough match, as they face No. 6 North Central College in Naperville, Illinois at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard time.

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