New Paltz, NY — On Saturday, the State University of New York at New Paltz concluded the Hawks Challenge Invitational by winning out against Manhattanville College in three sets (25-8, 25-20, 16-25, 25-23), but unfortunately falling to Williams College in a close five-set match, (26-24, 23-25, 17-25, 25-21, 9-15). 

Starting off the day against Manhattanville, the Hawks were quick to get on the board during the first. The opening point was scored off a service ace by Cate DiGiacomo, quickly followed by a kill by Mackenzie Williams. The initial momentum gave SUNY New Paltz the confidence to play aggressively at the net and prioritize its offense, because they went on more than three at least four-point runs and did not let the Valiants score more than two points at a time the entire first set. The Hawks were able to keep Manhattanville to under ten points, and two service aces in a row by Mackenzie Williams allowed SUNY New Paltz to dominantly win the set with a score of 25-8.  

Going into the second, the Hawks came out with even more fierceness, immediately going on a seven-point run. Manhattanville was able to produce more offensive opportunities, especially later in the set when they cut the deficit to a mere four points. SUNY New Paltz was able to pull away, and a set by Dana Collins gave Letisha Perez the chance to finish the set with an authoritative 25th-point kill, showing a final score of 25-20. 

After falling in the third set, where the Hawks were unable to come back from a large deficit midway through, they were intent on coming in with the same style of play that won them the first two sets. The Valiants had an early lead, but SUNY New Paltz was able to tie the score at 12-12, and yet another service ace by Williams put the host team ahead 13-12. The remainder of the set was back and forth between the competitors, but a four-point run by SUNY New Paltz hoisted it to victory, in both the set and the game.  
 

The Hawks finished out the day competing against Williams College. At the start of the match, the seven seniors on the team were honored for their Senior Day Game. DiGiacomo, Williams, Collins, Podstupka, Kayleigh Emanuelson, Samantha Cox, and Victoria Venus were all recognized for their contributions to the program and the university.  

At the start of the first, SUNY New Paltz came out to a quick lead, including a pair of kills by Jamie Albrecht to make it 4-0. The Ephs were able to battle back and created a close back-and-forth set between them and the hosts. It was close until the end, and a lengthy rally at the 24-24-point mark was punctuated by an exclamation point kill from Mackenzie Williams, which broke the tie to put the Hawks ahead by one. Williams would secure another kill to secure the first set for SUNY New Paltz, with a final score of 26-24. 
After falling short in the second and third sets, the Hawks had to win the fourth set to force the fifth. SUNY New Paltz would lead Williams until late in the match, where a service error by Williams tied the score 17-17. The Hawks were able to pull away with a kill by Letisha Perez from a pass from Samantha Cox, and another silencing kill by Mackenzie Williams gave SUNY New Paltz their 25th point and forced a fifth and final set. 

In the fifth, Williams was sure to come out strong and never gave up the lead. The Hawks' point runs never exceeded two at a time, and their total score never went above double digits, which gave the Ephs the ability to take the fifth set and win the match three sets to two.  

Despite the latter game's results, SUNY New Paltz's gameplay was noteworthy. "I love how we played in the Williams match. Tough first set and battled to a win," said Hawks coach Matt Giufre. "[We] almost got the second but they made a few plays at the end and sort of handled us in the third. Down two to one to a great team and we kept battling them play for play fearlessly to force a fifth and had chances to pull out the win." 

Williams had 31 kills for the day, including 18 in the Williams match, which is her new season high. DiGiacomo also tied her season-high assists, collecting 43 in the Williams game. Perez had six blocks for the day, while Podstupka totaled a team-high of 17 digs in each game.   

"I'm more proud of our effort and character tonight than in any other match we've played this year including our wins," said Giufre. "If we can build on the way we competed together and fought together against Williams we are more than ready for upcoming tough SUNYAC competition starting next weekend. 

SUNY New Paltz enters SUNYAC competition, as it will take the road trip out west and be back in action against Fredonia on Sept. 29 at 6 p.m.  

Hawks vs. Manhattanville Game Highlights


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