Scranton, PA — The State University of New York at New Paltz closed out day two of the Scranton Invitational with two tough matches against both Swarthmore College and The University of Scranton.
After a tough loss against the Garnets, 20-25, 25-20, 15-25, 28-25, the Hawks bounced back to defeat the Royals in a four-set match, 25-21, 25-15, 25-27, 25-21.
Starting off the day, SUNY New Paltz secured a lead early in the first set against Swarthmore, until a seven-point run put the Garnets ahead. Despite the Hawks best efforts to chip away at the lead, Swarthmore ended up winning the set by five. Going into the second the Hawks showed a more aggressive offensive campaign, having more recorded kills across the lineup, with Jamie Albrecht and Mackenzie Williams boasting a combined 10 kills. SUNY New Paltz went on to win the set but could not ride the momentum into the third and fourth. Despite a valiant defensive performance by the Hawks having tallied 70 digs, they succumbed to multiple of the Garnet's runs, had over 30 attack errors, and eventually lost the following two sets and the match.
"Swarthmore simply played better volleyball than we did." said Hawks coach Matt Giufre. "They are very consistent, athletic and smart and I'm glad we got to face them so we can learn and grow from that experience. Our goal going into the Scranton match was to compete on every point and flush every point, good or bad, and move on to the next one."
And that's exactly what they did.
SUNY New Paltz came out on fire with an immediate 5-0 run, and Hawks never relinquished the lead and won the first set. The second set went the same, with the largest point difference between the competitors being a whopping 13 points, and the Hawks taking the lead 2-0. The third set was back and forth until Scranton went on a nine-point run midway through to gain the lead. A kill by Mackenzie Williams from Cate DiGiacomo would break the Royals' streak, but Scranton would push the set into overtime and win the third, forcing a fourth set for the match. It would not extend any further, SUNY New Paltz would claim victory in the fourth – and win the match in this stellar second match of the day.
"Our offense was a lot sharper in the Scranton match and our defense was a step quicker to the ball," Giufre said. "We got a chance to play three very strong teams this weekend and we got better from start to finish as a team."
SUNY New Paltz had two great showings offensively, totaling 45 kills against Swarthmore and 52 kills against Scranton. Letisha Perez had an exceptional day, securing 22 kills and 3.5 total blocks. Mackenzie Williams and Melanie Podstupka had a combined 73 digs, including a career-high 23 for Podstupka against Swarthmore, and Jamie Albrecht added 24 digs and 23 kills.
The Hawks will be on the road again on Sept. 6 facing off against Western Connecticut State.
"We will enjoy our opening weekend success for now and get back in the gym Monday to keep growing."
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