Dallas, PA - The State University of New York at New Paltz on day two of the Misericordia Tournament. The Hawks came out of the first match with a dominant win over Elmira College, 25-18, 25-14, 25-21. They carried that momentum into the second match of the day against Wentworth Institute of Technology and defeated the Leopards in four sets, 25-16, 21-25, 25-23, 25-18.
"This was a good overall weekend for us," commented SUNY New Paltz Coach Matt Giufre "We got a lot of contributions today against Elmira that speaks to the quality of players we have on our team."
The Hawks opened against Elmira College. The lead bounced between the two teams for the first few points of the set, until SUNY New Paltz could get on a scoring roll. After a service error from the Soaring Eagles, the Hawks extended their lead by three points, a service ace by Kayleigh Emanuelson making the score 9-6. Elmira attempted to come back from the deficit, but the Hawks held the lead until the conclusion of the set, taking the first 25-18.
The second set started similarly to the first, except Elmira had the lead, beating the Hawks 8-6. But a six-point scoring run pushed SUNY New Paltz ahead again, giving them the lead. Elmira went on a slight run, closing the point deficit to six, but the Hawks went on a five-point scoring run to victory, ending the second with a block by Letisha Perez making the score 25-14.
SUNY New Paltz showed their skills in the third, quickly gaining a lead over the Soaring Eagles, leading them by ten points with a score of 14-4. A kill by Christine Balbona and two bad sets by Elmira gave the Hawks the confidence to keep the lead and fight off the Soaring Eagles' chance of coming back. SUNY New Paltz defended their side of the court in the last five points, forcing a service error by Elmira, which gave the Hawks the victory, for both the match and the set with a score of 25-21.
Regarding the first game, Giufre noted, "It was a good team win that also better prepared us for a tough Wentworth team." The Hawks would go on to face the Wentworth Institute of Technology in the second game of the day. "They beat Misericordia in four who we lost to in four, so we knew we had our hands full with them."
SUNY New Paltz was able to successfully carry their momentum into the Wentworth Game. The Hawks got out to an early lead in the first set, between kills and service aces from SUNY New Paltz, the score reached 14-7. The Hawks were able to hold the lead until the end of the set, where a kill by Mackenzie Williams and a service ace brought the score to 25-16.
The second set was not as triumphant for SUNY New Paltz, as Wentworth brought a newfound intensity to the match. The lead changed multiple times between the competitors until two straight kills gave the Leopards the final two points needed to take the second set by a slight margin, 25-21. The Hawks turned it around in the third, gaining yet another early lead. A kill from Mackenzie Williams gave SUNY New Paltz the boost they needed, and were able to go on a five-point run, but Wentworth came back right away with their own five-point run to regain the lead. The score would go back and forth to the end, but Letisha Perez put an exclamation point on the set with a kill to secure the Hawks the set, 25-23.
Consistency was a big factor in the Hawks taking the fourth. SUNY New Paltz was able to continuously create offensive opportunities, and not let the Leopards go on scoring runs over three points each. They were also able to capitalize off Wentworth's mistakes since the Leopards had 10 errors in the fourth. In the end, the Hawks took the fourth and final set by a seven-point margin, 25-18.
Jamie Albrecht totaled a remarkable 21 kills between both matches, and Mackenzie Williams had 20 kills and 15 digs. Cate DiGiacomo had 53 assists for the day. Kayleigh Emanuelson added six service aces, three in each game.
"The biggest difference today from yesterday is we played more relaxed and confident when the sets were close and that allows our talent to come through," said Giufre. Comparing Saturday's gameplay to the games earlier in the week, Giufre noted, "We would lose a few points and we'd lose our confident edge. That was much different and better today. This whole week was good for us to continue to figure out who we are against strong teams as we build toward playing our best volleyball."
The Hawks will return to the nest to face the Ithaca College Bombers on Friday, September 22, at 6 p.m.
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