New Paltz, NY — With playoff implications on the line, in what may very have been its last SUNYAC home game of the season, while honoring its key two seniors on the day, the Hawks showed their resiliency.
 
After the visiting Oswego Lakers came back to take set two and were on the brink of exiting the Hawk Center Saturday with a win, the State University of New York New Paltz fought back to earn an electric five set win (25-18, 23-25, 23-25, 25-16, 15-8) to tighten their grasp on its 19th consecutive playoff spot.
 
"Getting this win on senior day felt amazing, but I think it was a turning point for the whole team to show that we can come back from being down," said Hawks senior Jamie Albrecht. "We had our highs and lows, and they had theirs, but I think we really persevered in the fifth set, and we really showed who was better and that was us."
 
SUNY New Paltz never trailed in the opening set and held a 19-14 lead following a solo block by Letisha Perez. The Lakers answered with three consecutive points, but the hosts responded right back with five-straight points backed by two kills from Perez and then a block from the senior to get her team to set point. Maria Weigand then put the finishing touches on the 1-0 lead with a kill off an assist from Kim Braun.
 
Set No. 2 was nearly the turning point for the Hawks, as they held a 19-12 advantage and saw a 2-0 lead within sight. Unfortunately, errors allowed Oswego back into the stanza and the visitors scored the next 12 of 13 points to get ahead, 24-20. SUNY New Paltz coach Matt Giufre went to his bench to provide a spark, subbing in Mia Colombo, Regan Moeykens and Riley Guzman. The trio did help turn the momentum with the aid of good serving from Braun to get back within one at 23-24. Braun forced back-to-back attacking errors before Colombo set Perez for a kill to extend the set. Braun served the next point and sprawled out to keep a ball alive, but the Hawks couldn't put the ball in play as the ball dropped at the net to solidify the 25-23 win for the Lakers.
 
 
Oswego held onto the momentum into the third. SUNY New Paltz fought back to take a 22-20 lead, but the Lakers scored four-straight to get to set point. They closed out with kills sandwiched between a service error to snatch a 2-1 lead on the Hawks' home floor.
 
SUNY New Paltz regrouped in the fourth. Weigand helped swing the set, as she served eight consecutive points with Albrecht putting the team on her shoulders with five kills in the stretch to give her the Hawks a 14-9 lead. SUNY New Paltz rolled from there, holding a 21-16 lead before tying the set on four-straight scores thanks to a kill by Moeykens, two aces from Braun and a miss-hit from the Lakers to force a deciding fifth set.
 
"I think we had a lot of people that came into the game off the bench that are game changers," said Albrecht "… at this point of the season, we really need those turning points in a set to gain momentum back. I think in the fourth and the fifth set halfway through I think that was when it really happened for us."  
The Hawks were locked in from that point forward with the crowd and their home bench generating energy which ignited everyone in blue on the floor. Straglas was the catalyst in the fifth, as she was a force at the net getting her hands on three blocks in the period.
 
A kill by Stragalas gave the hosts the 8-5 lead at the switch before following with five more points, capped by back-to-back aces from Weigand to hold a 13-5 advantage. SUNY New Paltz got to match point at 14-7 following a service error with Albrecht doing the honors of putting the finishing touches on a five-set win on senior day, swinging hard from the right side to clinch the 15-8 set victory.
 
"The fifth set was really fire," Perez said. "My friend Lexi she was into it. It was really good, because she's been playing outside and now, she's playing middle because we needed her there and she was okay with that. And then today, she really showed off and that was great."
 
Albrecht led all players with 18 kills, hitting an efficient .447 while adding an ace, four blocks and 13 digs for a game-high 21 points. Fellow senior Perez followed, as she added 12 kills with four blocks, two digs and 15.5 points. Stragalas was huge at the net, totaling nine kills, and a career-high eight blocks. Weigand tallied six kills with a game-high five aces and 13 digs. Savage facilitated the offense with a game-high 35 assists, while Jordyn Lewis led the team defensively with 19 digs and three assists. Braun did a little of everything, adding four assists, three aces and 11 digs.
 
"I can [speak] for the both of us and the best gift for us today was winning," Perez said. "We were both having that Mamba Mentality that we both wanted to win. it didn't matter that it was a special day for us, we just wanted to get that W and we did and we were really happy. We just appreciate everything that everyone had done for us today. It was a really good game."
 
The victory pushed the Hawks to fourth in the SUNYAC standings with one week of conference games remaining before seeding is solidified. They are back in action next weekend to conclude regular season SUNYAC play on the road against Plattsburgh and Potsdam.
 
"I think coach is really preparing us in practices to be ready for these matches," Albrecht added. "I think this week showed that these two games could have gone either way, but we really worked hard in practice, and we really showed it this weekend. I think that really sums up where we are moving forward to, and we haven't hit our peak yet and that's all that matters."
 

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