New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York New Paltz split its slate of games Saturday in the Hawk Center against visiting Clarkson and Baruch College.
 
The Hawks (8-8 overall, 1-0 SUNYAC) opened up with the Golden Knights and dropped a five-set match: 21-25, 25-19, 25-23, 27-29, 15-9, before sweeping the Bearcats in three (25-14, 25-12, 25-19).
 
SUNY New Paltz narrowly escaped game one with a four-set win over visiting Clarkson to begin the Saturday slate of games. After dropping the first set by four, the hosts started garnering some momentum and stormed to a 17-9 lead in the second. Letisha Perez was the catalyst in the period, as the 6-foot middle did a little bit of everything during the set.
 
Showing soft hands, she enabled what was a 5-0 run assisting Maria Weigand on a kill to push SUNY New Paltz out in front, 3-2 for the first time in the set. She solidified the run with a kill off an assist from Elena Savage. Perez then got in on a double block with Lexi Stragals to create a 10-7 cushion with Perez pushing to 11-7 with an ace.
 
The Golden Knights came back within three before Weigand helped her team side-out with a kill off a set from Savage. Jamie Albrecht and Christine Balbona followed with a block before a double touch call on a set by Clarkson extended the lead to 14-8. A 3-0 run ensued after the Golden Knights earned back a point thanks to a serving error from the visitors was followed by another block from Albrecht and Balbona. Albrecht solidified the Hawks' largest lead at 17-9 with a kill off another assist by Savage.
 
The Hawks kept the momentum from there, as they earned set point at 24-18 following a hitting error with Stragalas capping the period with a kill to secure the 25-19 win.
 
SUNY New Paltz got ahead early and led 13-8 following an ace from Weigand. Clarkson stormed back to put itself within one, but Stragalas helped the Hawks side-out with back-to-back kills. The Hawks never relinquished the lead and created a 20-14 cushion with Courtney Meyer serving tough through a 4-0 stanza, tallying two aces in the run. The closest the Golden Knights got was at 22-19, but a clutch kill by Weigand handed the ball to Kim Braun who served to set point after a hitting error by Clarkson. SUNY New Paltz spotted its opposition four points before Weigand put an end to what almost was a comeback from the Golden Knights, smashing a kill to secure a 2-1 lead, winning the set 25-23.
 
 
The fourth was a turning point in the match. Braun served through three-straight points early to give her team their first lead of the stanza with Perez finishing on consecutive kills, pushing the score to 7-6. The Hawks held onto the advantage and established their fattest cushion at 23-15 following an ace from Weigand. However, the Golden Knights wouldn't go away and chipped at the deficit. A kill by Perez finally allowed SUNY New Paltz to side-out at 24-18, but Clarkson scored seven consecutive points to grab its first lead since the opening points of the set. The two teams traded serves before Meyer helped her team to match point once again, serving to 27-26, but the Golden Knights sided-out on a kill and then scored again on a kill before a reception error led to an ace to extend the match to a fifth.
 
The momentum was swung in the fifth and the Golden Knights went ahead, 7-3 and held onto the lead at 8-7 at the switch. They rolled from there and held match point at 14-8 before a kill solidified the comeback victory, 15-9.
 
Perez led the way for SUNY New Paltz totaling a team-high 17 kills on 40 attempts, hitting a productive .425 with two assists, one ace and two blocks with four digs. Wegiand followed with 15 kills, three aces and 11 digs with Albrecht adding 13 kills, two blocks and 10 digs. Savage finished with a career-high 51 assists t ogo along with 14 digs. Jordyn Lewis and Meyer led the team defensively combining for 43 digs, while the latter had a game-high five aces.
 
The Hawks rebounded after a tough loss against Clarkson to open up the tri-match, dominating Baruch in the late game. It out-performed the Bearcats in every statistical category including hitting percentage (.298-.000), points (57-20), kills (39-15), aces (14-4), blocks (4-1), assists (31-15) and digs (43-29).
 
SUNY New Paltz got contributions from up and down the roster, including freshman Nora Keating who earned the set three start and registered her first points in the Hawk Center of her young career, coming in clutch with three kills off five attempts to hit .600 in the game, while adding a block and a dig to her stat line.
 
Braun and Mia Colombo split setting duties after Savage sat for the reminder of the match after colliding with teammate Stragalas early in the first. Braun and Colombo facilitated the offense well, combining for 22 assists.
 
Albrecht ultimately led all players with 12 kills and 14 points, adding an ace and a block. Weigand and Mirella Valluzzi followed with six kills apiece. Weigand added a team-leading seven digs and three aces, while Valluzzi hit a productive .400 while adding a dig. Meyer tallied four aces while adding six digs to help in the rout.
 
The Hawks are resumes SUNYAC play next weekend, hosting Buffalo State and Fredonia Oct. 11-12 in the Hawk Center with first serve scheduled for 6 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.


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