New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz opened up its first two home matches of the season Saturday against No. 1 Stevens Institute of Technology and Wentworth Institute of Technology.
 
The Hawks rallied to win in five over the Leopards (17-25, 19-25, 25-21, 25-23, 15-9), but dropped their opening match to the Ducks in four sets (25-17, 18-25, 24-26, 19-25).
 
After more than a week off, SUNY New Paltz played its first game in the Northeast Wednesday against No. 4 Springfield and suffered a tough 3-0 loss to their non-conference rival. The Hawks' schedule didn't lighten Saturday in the Hawk Center, playing the top ranked Ducks. SUNY New Paltz got out hot and took a 1-0 lead after a commanding first set that saw them hit .316 as a team with 10 kills and seven aces — including four-straight by fifth-year senior Brendan Spulnick that helped to a 25-17 victory.
 
Stevens tied the game at a set apiece leading into a pivotal third period that needed extra points to decide. Stevens led 17-12 at one point, but SUNY New Paltz slowly clawed back into the set scoring six of the next eight points. Freshman Teddy Teraskiewcz came in and served hard following a kill by Pat Wing, which cut the score, 17-19 and gave the Hawks back serve, which led to a double block by John Ronan and Spulnick to trim the difference to one.
 
 
The Ducks went up 23-20 before a four-point swing got SUNY New Paltz to set point, as freshman Luke Hofer came in and served through the stretch leading to a kill by AJ Fitzgerald, an attacking error by Stevens and back-to-back kills by Spulnick and Fitzgerald. However, the Hawks couldn't close out on the final point, as Koby Sherman swung for a kill for Stevens before Christopher Varseveld aced to push the Ducks ahead, 2-1 in the match.
 
The third set swung momentum toward Stevens as it comfortably closed out the game in the fourth without ever trailing.  
 
Despite appearing in just two of four sets, Wing led SUNY New Paltz with a team-high 14 kills on 24 attempts, hitting .458 with an assist and five digs. Spulnick followed with 13 kills on 30 attempts, while tallying a game-high six aces and 21 points, while adding three blocks and four digs. Fitzgerald also finished in double-digit kills, totaling 12 on 22 attempts, hitting .273 with three aces, an assist, a block and three digs. Kyle Shaffer led the team with 40 assists.  
SUNY New Paltz regrouped in its last match of the day, determined to end a two-game losing skid. Wentworth won the opening two sets with the Hawks struggling offensively, hitting a combined .059 in the opening two frames, but regrouped in a dominant last three sets.  
 
Spulnick continued serving hard, ripping three-straight aces to boost his team's lead to 14-9 midway through the third. SUNY New Paltz maintained a five-point cushion at 20-15 following a block by Ronan and Shaffer, but the Leopards responded with consecutive points to get within three leading to a timeout by Hawks coach Radu Petrus. Spulnick answered out of the break with a kill, as SUNY New Paltz kept the ball alive on a long rally.

Petrus called a timeout again after Wentworth reached within two at 23-21 with freshman Krish Jain helping the Hawks to set point on a kill. Fitzgerald then put an end to the set on a hard swing on the ensuing serve, forcing the match into a fourth set.
 
Shaffer drilled a free ball to push SUNY New Paltz ahead, 18-17 in the fourth stanza. More tough serving by Teraskiewicz aided a 4-0 run, capped by kills from Wing and Ronan. Wentworth crawled back to get within one at 21-20, but Wing registered another kill off an assist from Shaffer. The two teams exchanged points until Wing closed the fourth on a kill from Shaffer.
 
With the crowed rallying behind the Hawks, the fifth and final set was swung completely toward the home team. SUNY New Paltz got out to a 4-1 lead, which extended to 6-2 and eventually 8-3 at the switch following an emphatic looking ace put in by Wing. A 3-0 run at 11-7 all but solidified the win. Shaffer sent a backset to Wing for a kill with Ronan re-adjusting mid-air on another set by Shaffer to tip the ball past the Leopards onto the open floor to cap the stretch. Ronan then set his team up at match point with another hard swing and Wing, fittingly, did the honors of closing the win out on a kill off an assist by Dan LaRosa.
 
Wing finished with a team-high 18 kills with four aces and 10 digs. Spulnick followed with 15 kills, four aces and eight digs with Ronan totaling nine kills, four blocks and a dig. Shaffer was the beneficiary, registering 46 assists, a block and two digs.
 
SUNY New Paltz upped its record to 6-3 overall with their next match Thursday on the road at Ramapo College.

Hawks vs. Wentworth Game Highlights


Hawks vs. No. 1 Stevens Game Highlights

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