New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York New Paltz hosted the Buffalo State Bengals for its second SUNYAC matchup of the year, falling in four sets (12-25, 13-25, 28-26, 25-27) in the Hawk Center Friday night.
 
SUNY New Paltz battled back in set three after getting down quick by two sets scoring a combined 25 points in the first two periods. After winning in an extended third set, the fourth again went more than 25 but the Hawks couldn't seal the win after holding a 24-21 lead, falling by two at 27-25 to take their first SUNYAC loss of the year.
 
The offense struggled throughout the match. Letisha Perez led SUNY New Paltz with 12 kills, followed by Jamie Albrecht and Lexi Stragalas with eight and six, respectively, as the hosts hit .013 in the match. Elena Savage totaled a team-high 28 assists with Albrecht and libero Jordyn Lewis led the team defensively with 17 and 14 digs, respectively.
 
The first set was tough for the Hawks who hit in the negatives and scored just 12 points off 36 attempts. Savage entered for Kim Braun at setter and won a point back at 12-22 following a quick dig, set and kill capped by Christine Balbona. Savage couldn't spark a rally, however, as her serve on the ensuing point hit the net before a kill and a hitting error ended the first with a comfortable win for the visitors.
 
SUNY New Paltz continued to struggle with the serving game, as its passing led to another low percentage offensively with the team hitting, .091 in the set. The Bengals took their largest lead at 21-10 and then earned set point at 24-13 with an ace putting an end to set two at 25-13 with the visitors going up, 2-0 in the match.
 
The Hawks worked their way back in a gritty third set. Nora Keating got the start to begin the stanza and opened the period with a kill to give SUNY New Paltz the initial lead. The hosts held onto the advantage and got up, 12-9 thanks to Perez who was a part of three-straight points for her team. First tallying a kill before showing soft hands on a nice set to Albrecht, allowing her to swing hard for a kill. She then got up for a double block alongside Lexi Stragalas to extend the run with Stragalas capping the stretch with a kill to push the score to 13-9.
 
 
A kill by Albrecht ultimately got the Hawks to set point at 24-21, but three-straight points by the Bengals tied the stanza. Albrecht re-established set point with a kill, but Buffalo State answered with a kill of their own before another block by Perez, this time alongside Maria Weigand, secured a 26-25 lead. The visitors answered one last time before two straight attacking errors allowed SUNY New Paltz to extend the match to a fourth set.
 
The fourth ran similar to the third, as the Hawks held onto set point at 24-21 following a block by Savage and Perez. Buffalo State wouldn't go away, however, and scored four-straight points to steal back match point. Perez stayed strong at the net and got her hands on a solo block to tie the score, but it wasn't enough to stop the Bengals as they closed out with back-to-back kills to earn the 27-25 win.
 
The loss dropped SUNY New Paltz below .500 at 8-9 overall and 1-1 in the SUNYAC, while Buffalo State improved to 11-8 and 3-0, respectively.
 
The Hawks are back in action Saturday, hosting Fredonia State at 1 p.m. in the Hawk Center.


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