New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz dominated the court Friday with a clean 3-0 sweep against the Russell Sage Gators, 25-16, 25-14, 25-23. The win not only marked the Hawks fourth on the season but was also coach Matt Giufre's 500th career victory.
 
Right off the bat, SUNY New Paltz came out swinging, at one point leading the Gators 16-3, having three times the number of kills. The second set proved to be the same, as the Hawks were aggressive at the net with 35 total kills. The third was closer in score and statistics. In the end, SUNY New Paltz took the set by two points, winning 25-23. The Hawks beat out the Gators in every statistic besides aces, and had a .220 hitting percentage, compared to the away team's .025 percentage.
 
Everyone got a chance to shine on the court, with all players on the roster seeing the floor, as SUNY New Paltz had 10 different hitters register at least a kill including a season-high for senior outside Victoria Venus who had a team-high 11 coming off the bench on 27 attempts, hitting a productive .259 on the night.
 
 
"The best part is everybody contributed," Giufre said. "It's hard to pick standouts when because the team stood out."
 
Jamie Albrecht followed with 10 kills, while Mackenzie Williams added five to go along with 10 digs. Mirella Valluzzi secured a career-high four kills, while freshman Courtney Meyer stood out defensively, as the outside hitter tallied seven digs and a block with two kills in two sets played. Dana Collins was the top facilitator on the night, totaling a season-high 21 assists and four digs, while Letisha Perez contributed with two blocks and three kills.  
The overall full team effort highlighted a milestone victory for Giufre who in 21 seasons is not only the winningest coach in program history but sits 30th all-time among active coaches and 86th all-time in the history of Division III women's volleyball.
 
Throughout his 21 seasons, Giufre led the program to three SUNYAC titles, six NCAA Tournament appearances and was named the conference's coach of the year three times and was an AVCA All-Region Coach of the Year choice in 2014. Giufre turned the Hawks Volleyball program from a 9-23 team the year before he took over the program, to a team that has not had fewer than 19 wins in a season since 2004.  
 
"I think back to coming here in 2002 and wanting to part of creating something special that that means a lot to the student athletes that participate," Giufre reminisced. "When I first started coaching here, I didn't think about 500 matches much less 500 wins…we have great student athletes that that come to New Paltz and it makes the job a lot of fun."
 
SUNY New Paltz will look to earn its fifth and sixth victories on the year and help Giufre surpass the 500-mark Saturday, as it faces Union College at 10 a.m. and Mount Saint Mary College at 4:45 p.m. on day two of the Hawks Invitational. The Hawks' latter game will also serve as their Down Syndrome Awareness game and asks fans to sport blue and yellow to show their support for the cause.

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