New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz came out with a tremendous victory against the Brockport Golden Eagles in a slim five-set match (28-26, 17-25, 18-25, 26-24, 15-11). The Hawks were able to get retribution for the teams' previous meeting, where Brockport knocked the Hawks out of the SUNYAC playoffs in the second round.
The first set was close between the competitors, with both teams coming out prepared and focused. The leading team never surpassed a four-point lead, and they were neck and neck until Brockport gained a kill to put them up 23-20, and in position to take the game. SUNY New Paltz was not ready to give up, as it took advantage of an error by the Golden Eagles and set up Mackenzie Williams for a kill, which shortened the deficit to only a point. Brockport attempted to pull away, but a kill by Jamie Albrecht followed by two consecutive hits by Letisha Perez gave the Hawks the 25-24 lead. Overtime would continue until two attack errors from Brockport gave SUNY New Paltz the set, with a score of 28-26.
It was hard for the Hawks to keep the momentum rolling, as they would fall in the next two sets to Brockport. "We didn't play well enough defensively for the first two and a half sets, [but] then started to turn it on midway through the third," commented Hawks Coach Matt Giufre. "Unfortunately, at that point, we were down too much to fully come back, but it set the tone for the fourth and fifth [sets]."
Gallery: (10-6-2023) Women's Volleyball vs. Brockport 10/6/23
In the fourth set, SUNY New Paltz was determined to not quit yet, scoring the first point, and coming out with an early lead against the Golden Eagles. The home defense was strong, with key blocks from Perez and Samantha Cox, and a backline anchor in senior libero Melanie Podstupka. Brockport still was headstrong and came back in the 16th point, leading the Hawks by one after a three-point run. It was neck and neck, and a point change late in the match nearly crushed the SUNY New Paltz's energy, but a kill by Perez assisted by Emma Mahoney tied the score at 24-24, pushing the set into overtime. The period didn't go on for much longer, as Perez had two dominant kills to finish the fourth set 26-24 and force a fifth to extend an exhilarating match.
The Hawks came out firing in the fifth, opening the set with a 4-1 lead against Brockport. A service ace by Podstupka scored the eighth point and gave SUNY New Paltz the 8-5 lead when the teams switched sides. The Golden Eagles were shut down offensively, and despite their efforts to shorten the deficit, SUNY New Paltz kept the lead and pushed the offensive gas pedal. A kill by Williams scored the key 14th point, and an error by Brockport solidified the win for the Hawks, in a 15-11 final set.
"I think we played and pushed ourselves till we had nothing left in the tank which was one of our goals," said Hawks co-captain Cate DiGiacomo. "We stayed composed and battled the entire game and I'm really proud of us for that."
"It was a tough game. I am really proud of the team," said Perez. "After this match, [and] playing like this…we are going to kill it tomorrow. We are all really confident and really happy."
The fantastic performance from the Hawks was evident in the stat lines. Perez had a career-high 20 kills against the Golden Eagles, along with four total blocks, tallying 22.5 points. Albrecht closely followed with 20 points and 17 kills. DiGiacomo accumulated 44 assists, and Podstupka had an impressive 20 digs, followed by Williams with 15. SUNY New Paltz had great success amongst underclassmen as well, notably Mahoney and Lexi Stragalas, who played three and five sets, respectively.
"They bring something when you least suspect it," said Perez regarding the talented Hawks bench and underclassmen on the roster. "There's a lot of talent on the team…we have a lot of people who contribute to the team and even those who did not play today are always there and ready."
Perez was a key player in the match and a central component of the winning side. "Letisha offensively was huge," noted Giufre.
"I love playing," said Perez. "I don't need something to motivate me…I just need to play some music, and I'm going to be all crazy."
The win was SUNY New Paltz's third SUNYAC victory, as they tied Geneseo for first place in the conference. The Hawks will face the Knights Saturday at home, a game that will greatly affect SUNYAC standings and possible playoff ventures.
"Overall, it showed great competitive character to win down two sets to one [today], and now we need to turn our focus to a tough Geneseo team," said Giufre.
Despite the hard-fought win over the Golden Eagles Friday, a team the Hawks last defeated in 2021 who are a perennial SUNYAC contender, the focus entering Saturday and the latter part of their conference schedule is to continue stacking the wins regardless of opponent.
"Every SUNYAC win is important," said DiGiacomo. "We are going to use this momentum to carry us into tomorrow and the rest of our SUNYAC schedule."
The Hawks will play the Knights at 2 p.m., competing for the SUNYAC top spot while supporting mental health, as it is their Green Out for Mental Health Awareness game.
Post-Game Featuring Letisha Perez
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