Madison, NJ — The State University of New York at New Paltz defeated Drew University in three sets Wednesday night, beating the Rangers each set in a near-identical fashion, (25-17, 25-17, 25-17). 

The Rangers, after having two consecutive kills to start the match, errored two attack attempts and one serve which gave SUNY New Paltz a 3-2 lead. The Hawks would not lose the advantage from then on out, adding points off of Drew's errors and capitalizing on offensive opportunities, as Hawks coach Matt Giufre and the team had to work around Drew's impressive defensive efforts.

"I thought Drew was outstanding defensively and made us really work for points," Giufre said. "We were able to battle through several long rallies and win points without making unforced errors."

Mackenzie Williams put the Hawks up 16-10 off a kill assisted by Melanie Podstupka before Cate DiGiacomo dished Williams a ball to produce another dominating kill to make it 17-10, forcing the Rangers to take a timeout. Coming back on the court, Drew was unable to build enough momentum to take the lead, and Williams concluded the set 25-17 with another kill, her fifth of the match.

Going into the second, five errors within 10 points played led the competitors to be tied 5-5, until the Hawks began to produce more offensive opportunities than Drew could deny. SUNY New Paltz had the lead, but a slight one, and led the Rangers by only one or two points at a time. After another kill by Williams advanced the Hawks to a 16-13 lead, the team went on a roll, slowly extending their point differential over Drew. An attack error by the Rangers late in the set gave SUNY New Paltz the opportunity it needed, and Letisha Perez finalized the set with two kills, both assisted by DiGiacomo. The Hawks took the second set 25-17.
The third set started neck and neck again before Lexi Stragalas broke a 2-2 tie with a remarkable kill, putting SUNY New Paltz up 3-2. The Hawks kept up their momentum and continued to battle with the Rangers, continuously one step ahead. After a tight few points in the middle of the set, SUNY New Paltz began to pull away once again, and Stragalas punctuated the small run with another kill making the score 17-13, securing her seventh kill of the match and third of the set.

"Lexi had a great match offensively," Giufre said. "It was nice to see her break out and be a go-to option."

The Hawks had amassed a comfortable lead and despite the Rangers' best efforts to come back, SUNY New Paltz took the set, 25-17 after two consecutive kills from Christine Balbona and Jamie Albrecht. 

Albrecht led the squad in kills (10), digs (8) and aces (3), amassing 14 total points. Perez held down the Hawks' defense with two total blocks, and DiGiacomo sparked offensive opportunities with 15 assists, followed by Dana Collins with 11.

SUNY New Paltz looks to close out its regular season with success before SUNYAC playoffs begin, and with only two games left, there is only a short time to prepare for the tournament.

"As we get back to practice and go into this weekend we're still working to be a bit more consistent in side out and first contact on easier plays," Giufre said. "Overall we're closer to being the team we're capable of being, but [we] still have work to do."

The Hawks will conclude their regular season schedule on Nov. 4 with a two-game series against Montclair State University and DeSales University, beginning at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively. 

******************  
To stay up to date with everything #NPHawks be sure to follow us on Twitter at @nphawks, Instagram and Facebookat @newpaltzhawks, and subscribe to our Youtube channel, New Paltz Hawks.