There are now 122 colleges sponsoring NCAA DIII men's volleyball. Yet, only four have dominated the NCAA DIII championship since its introduction in 2012: Springfield College, Stevens Institute of Technology, Carthage College and SUNY New Paltz.

The two-time national champions (2016, 2019) will look to make their seventh appearance in the NCAA DIII tournament after an "off year" in 2023 — if a 20-9 overall and 5-1 UVC record are considered an off year. Yet, the road to the UVC championship and beyond will be a challenging one for the Hawks. As noted by frogjumpvolleyball.com, 2024 will be'' the start of a youth movement within the Hawks." Gone from last season's squad are five players who led the program to a 95-32 record since 2019, with two NCAA DIII tournament appearances and one NCAA DIII title, while earning All-UVC, All-AVCA Region and All-AVCA All American honors along the way. However, that hasn't lessened expectations for the program.

"We believe anyone on this court, anybody on this team is capable of winning those games," said Hawks fifth-year senior Pat Wing on continuing to set a high standard within the program. "We don't lower our expectations for anyone on the team. Everyone is held to the same standard. That's what makes a good team great."
 
SUNY New Paltz, which ranks at No. 12 in the nation in the latest AVCA poll, started its season with two exhibition matches down in the Dominican Republican where they stayed from Jan. 9-17. Immersed in the culture, they played top-tier competition in the DR and looked strong throughout their contests there ultimately winning one and falling in a close five-set match.

"I definitely think the competition we faced in the DR was definitely good for us," Wing said. "We played against teams that age ranged from probably 17-18 to 28 [years old], so those older guys aren't as quick as the younger guys but they're fundamentally sound and they're good players to learn from and watch so getting out with those guys was really good. We learned a lot of new things without the stress of having to win those games."
 
 
For the nation's fifth longest serving DIII men's volleyball coach, Radu Petrus will take all of his 18 years of experience at SUNY New Paltz to mold the new edition Hawks into a strong contender. Yet the cupboard isn't bare, with the team returning a two-time AVCA All-American selection in Wing (OPP/MB, 6'4"/Massapequa, NY/Massapequa HS). Wing, a preseason frogjumpvolleyball.com All-American pick, led the Hawks in kills with 379 a year ago, was second with 34 service aces, third with 45 blocks and fourth with 127 digs. Leading the youth movement is 2023 UVC Co-Rookie of the Year, Krish Jain (MB, 6'6"/Hicksville, NY/Hicksville HS). Jain, who earned five UVC Rookie of the Week honors a season ago, paced his team in blocks with 64 and also scored 119 kills.
 
Lending senior experience will be captain AJ Fitzgerald (6'1"/Holbrook, NY/Sachem HS North) who will start at outside hitter for SUNY New Paltz this spring. Fitzgerald contributed 142 kills, 21 assists, 11 service aces and 106 digs in 2023.
"The freshmen they came in here ready to work with great energy," Fitzgerald said. "As a senior and as a captain on the team you can't ask for much more from them. Since then they've grown a whole bunch and the sophomores have stepped up, Krish especially, and yeah, I'm proud of them."
 
Adam Brawn (6'4"/Pittsford, NY/Rush Henrietta HS) and Christopher Larkin (6'3"/Westfield, NJ/St. Peter's Prep) return to help the Hawks. Larkin sat out the 2023 season, while Brawn saw limited court time a year ago. SUNY New Paltz's lone junior, Carter Lotz (OH, 6'3"/Port Washington, NY/Paul D. Schreiber HS), a former Newsday All-Long Island selection, looks to make an impact this season.

Seven sophomores, all of whom came to the Hawks with impressive scholastic and club credentials, now get their opportunity to make a mark. Along with Jain, they include Bennett Petrik (OH/MB, 6'6"/West Seneca, NY/West Seneca West HS), Mike Handell (MB, 6'5"/Wantagh, NY/Wantagh HS), Luke Hofer (L, 5'7"/Penfield, NY/McQuaid Jesuit HS), Mike Kilinski (MB, 6'7"/Greenfield, NY/Saratoga Springs HS), Matt Teplansky (OPP, 6'3"/Farmingdale, NY/Farmingdale HS), and Teddy Teraskiewicz (OH, 6'1"/Newtown, CT/Newtown HS).

Six first year players fill out the remainder of the roster for 2024 and any one of them could provide the talent and temperament needed for the Hawks to reach their postseason goals. Leading the pack is 2023 high school All American honorable mention Matt Marcusza (6'1", S/Orchard Park, NY/Canicius HS). One of frogjumvolleyball.com's 2024 Impact Players of the Year, Marcusza starred at Canisius High School in Buffalo and led his team to their 23rd consecutive league championship on the way to earning All-Western NY, Player of the Year and All NYS honors. Graham Labeck (6'4"/OH/ West Islip, NY/West Islip HS) led his team to the Suffolk County finals a year ago, earning All-Division and All-County honors. He was named to Newsday's Top 50 LI Boys Volleyball Players and was a two-time Newsday All-Long Island pick after totaling 210 kills for West Islip.
 
Two other Newsday Top 50 picks are Geoff Ndoria (6'4",OH/Lake Ronkonkoma, NY/Sachem HS North) and Patrick Soulias (6'3", S/Huntington Station, NY/Walt Whitman HS) whose 238 kills and 27 service aces placed him in the top 10 in Suffolk County a year ago.

Finalizing the first-year group are Michael Spiegel (6'4"/OPP/Rochester, NY/McQuaid Jesuit HS) who earned All-Greater Rochester Area honors and Matt Kudlinski (6'3", OH/Airmont, NY/Suffern HS) who was League MVP, All-Rockland County and All-Section 1 as a senior.
"We are run by a very young group of guys," Wing said. "We only have four guys on the team that are considered really older, fifth year's and seniors but I think it's good. I think they've stepped into the role really well. They're confident in their abilities. They're not shy, they've very out going and they're not afraid to step up and speak for themselves. I think they're adapting well and they're forming together. I think all the freshmen get along great, the sophomore get along great and I think we have great team chemistry building."
 
A late add this spring was sophomore transfer Daniel Shanley who spent last season starring for Division I George Mason where he appeared in 41 sets at outside hitter, tallying six digs, three aces and two assists during his freshman campaign. He follows the footsteps of older brother and Hawks alum, Chris Shanley '22 who was a part of SUNY New Paltz's 2019 national title team and became a UVC Player of the Year and First-Team All-UVC selection as a senior. Shanley will likely slide into the starting setter role for SUNY New Paltz. The 6-foot, Smithtown, NY native was an All-State selection for Smithtown West, along with earning All-Long Island honors three times throughout his career, was a Player of the Year selection and two-time Tournament MVP.

"Dan is a great player. He's been a great player since he's been five years old and so, we're just very, very happy to have him come here and contribute to the team," Fitzgerald said. He will help us out tremendously. Only good from him."
 
Petrus and assistant coach Antonio Bonilla have the task of molding a youthful team into a strong, confident and cohesive unit. The transition from scholastic to collegiate volleyball will be a learning curve for many on the team and how quickly they can adapt to the demands of the college game — the practices, the road trips and the matches themselves — will go a long way to ensuring a successful 2024. With a schedule that is anything but easy — the Hawks will face off against 22 of 25 teams that saw postseason action, seven winning their conference championships, five entering the NCAA DIII tournament and one winning the national championship — the learning curve will be sharp. And it starts right off the bat, as SUNY New Paltz opens its 2024 campaign at home against nationally ranked Rutgers-Newark on Wednesday in the Hawk Center.

Season Preview Featuring Pat Wing & AJ Fitzgerald


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