New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz fell in the United Volleyball Conference semifinal in four sets to St. John Fisher College Saturday.
 
The Hawks (20-9 overall, 5-1 UVC) and the Cardinals faced off in the UVC Tournament for the first time since they competed in the championship game in the Hawk Center last season.
 
St. John Fisher won the first set, 25-17 with SUNY New Paltz earning the second, 25-17, before the Cardinals took the last two sets, 25-18 and 25-20.
 
No. 3 St. John Fisher took a 19-14 lead in the first following a 4-0, before answering with another 4-0 run to get ahead, 23-15. The Hawks got back as close at 23-17 before the first set ended with an attacking error and a block with the Cardinals took a 1-0 lead.
 
The Hawks got ahead early in set two following back-to-back service aces by Brendan Spulnick that pushed the lead to 10-4. Pat Wing swung to a kill to push his team's lead to 18-14 and St. John Fisher continued chasing SUNY New Paltz who ended the second set on a 4-0 run after the Cardinals cut the score at 21-17. Krish Jain, Spulnick totaled kills with the set ending on a double block by Jain and Shaffer.
 
 
SUNY New Paltz got down early in the third, facing a 7-2 deficit and never led in the set. The Hawks got as close as 15-11 following four-straight kills by Spulnick. Dan LaRosa smashed a kill to cut the score, 23-18 but St. John Fisher ended the set with two straight points to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
The Hawks had a 16-14 lead in the fourth, but a 6-0 run turned the game with St. John Fisher who took a 20-16 lead that was capped with an attacking error. The two teams traded points with Wing cutting the score, 20-23 following a win. The Cardinals finished the game with a kill and an attacking error to move onto the championship round Sunday.
 
Spulnick led the Hawks with 17 kills, hitting .414 with three aces, a block and nine digs for a team-leading 20.5 points. Wing followed with 14 kills, adding two aces, two blocks and four digs. Shaffer totaled 36 assists with one block and seven digs.
 
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