SUNY New Paltz Athletics

Cortland, NY — A season ago, the State University of New York at New Paltz ended its season at SUNY Cortland in the semifinal round.
 
On Friday, the Hawks returned to Corey Gymnasium this time to take on No. 3 seeded SUNY Geneseo and they showed the maturity they've developed over the course of a year and calmly eliminated the Knights with a 3-0 sweep (25-18, 25-18, 25-17) to advance into the SUNYAC Championship round against the hosting Red Dragons Saturday.
 
SUNY New Paltz (21-7 overall, 8-1 SUNYAC) sold out for every ball, starting in the very first set. With the Knights leading by one at 10-9, momentum began to swing on a long point with the Hawks handling a tough swing on the outside from Geneseo. Keeping the point alive, Mackenzie Williams managed to keep the ball in play after an incredible effort bumping the ball over while on the ground. The point ended in favor of the Knights, however, the hustle play began shifting the game toward the Hawks.
 
"It all feels great," Williams said. "We came in with the attitude that we were all going to come out aggressive and do whatever we could, and I think every single person do that. It was awesome."
 
SUNY New Paltz sided-out on the very next play thanks to a kill by Lexi Stragalas and then proceeded on a 3-0 run to re-take the lead before scoring 11 of the next 13 points to grab a commanding, 20-13 advantage.
 
 
The Hawks continued piling on and forced the Knights into a timeout at 15-12 after Williams earned back serve for her team following a kill from the back row on an assist by Cate DiGiacomo. SUNY New Paltz controlled the set from there and ultimately took their largest lead at 23-15. The score was pushed to eight after Jamie Albrecht swung hard toward the opposite end of the floor resulting in a free ball for Stragalas who smashed it down for a kill. Stragalas then got her team to set point four points later off an assist from DiGiacomo with Samantha Cox sealing the 1-0 lead after beating a double block on the outside for the kill.  
"Right before the game we decided we were going to go for everything," Williams added. "It didn't matter how hard it was. Every single person is going to go all out for every ball, and I think we really did that and that's what kept the momentum on our side."
 
Stragalas was impressive in her first postseason action, as she led the game in the first with a .857 hitting percentage on 6-for-7 attempts. DiGiacomo also did well spreading the offense around as she had five different hitters with at least two kills in the 25-18 first-set victory.
 
SUNY New Paltz continued showcasing its defensive prowess in the second, as Stragalas saved a ball, which led to a kill by Albrecht to push the Hawks ahead, 14-11 in the second resulting in the Knights' first timeout of the period. After trading points, SUNY New Paltz went on a 6-1 run to build a healthy cushion, which brought the lead to 21-14 following an attacking error by the Knights. Albrecht gave her team set point on a kill from the right side off an assist by DiGiacomo before a setting error pushed the Hawks to a 2-0 lead.  
 
Albrecht and Williams were the offensive catalysts in the second, combining for nine of the team's 15 kills, while defensively limiting Geneseo to a .000 hitting percentage.
 
SUNY New Paltz then closed out with some good serving in the third. Melanie Podstupka served through a 5-0 run before Albrecht continued two points later, serving hard which resulted in back-to-back hitting errors for the Knights resulting in its first timeout of the set at 11-6.
 
Geneseo got back within two at 14-12, but SUNY New Paltz continued to flex its lead once again. Podstupka had an impressive effort, diving for a dig which then resulted in a kill by Williams to extend the advantage to 17-12. The Hawks then created a nine-point cushion before Albrecht helped her team to match point. She then cemented the win with an ace on the next point and clinch SUNY New Paltz a spot in the SUNYAC Championship for the first time since 2018.
 
Stragalas, Albrecht and Williams all finished in double-digit kills with 12, 10 and 15, respectively with each of them hitting above .300. DiGiacomo meanwhile finished with a game-high 36 assists, while adding one ace and two blocks. Cox had a great game, totaling a team-leading 11 digs with seven kills, while hitting a healthy .312 with an ace.
 
The second seeded Hawks return to Corey Gymnasium Saturday at 4 p.m. to face top-seeded and defending SUNYAC Champion SUNY Cortland. The Red Dragons won the regular season matchup on their home floor in four sets.
 
SUNY New Paltz, however, hopes to get the best of the series as it continues to ride an impressive victory Friday night.
 
"I think every single day we're playing we keep getting better," Williams said. "Everybody has made such improvements even over the last couple days that it's really exciting to see it all come together… It feels great. We're all going to bring the same energy tomorrow and it's going to be a great game. It'll be a lot of fun."

Post-Game Featuring Mackenzie Williams


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