New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York New Paltz won in four sets against visiting Vassar Wednesday night (25-19, 23-25, 25-21, 25-23) to extend its winning streak to five.
 
The Hawks improved to 14-11 overall with the victory, while the Brewers dropped to 6-15.
 
SUNY New Paltz out-hit Vassar, .200-.168, scoring more points (73-51), kills (53-34), aces (16-10), assists (43-31) and digs (58-49). The 16 aces recorded was tied for third most on the year as a team for the Hawks.
 
Letisha Perez was the catalyst, tallying 14 kills off 19 attempts to hit .632 with an assist, two blocks and three digs to score a game-high 16 points. Maria Weigand added 10 kills off 18 attempts to hit .389 with a career-high five aces with a team and career-high 18 digs. Jamie Albrecht followed with nine kills and 11 points, adding two aces and nine digs. Kim Braun and Elena Savage facilitated the offense, each tallying 20 assists with Savage totaling three aces while Braun added six digs.
 
SUNY New Paltz had a 14-10 lead early in set one following a kill by Jamie Albrecht. Vassar answered with four-straight points to tie the stanza, but after Mirella Valuzzi helped the Hawks side-out with a kill off a set from Savage, the hosts scored the next five points to take a comfortable, 20-14 lead. They never trailed from then on, earning set point following a service error at 24-17. Braun gave her team the win at 25-19, slyly dumping the ball over the net for a kill to close out the 1-0 lead.
 
Vassar got out to a 10-3 advantage in the second and never trailed in from that point on in the set despite the Hawks tying the score at 18, 19, 21 and 22-all but the Brewers managed to get to set point following a block on Regan Moeykens. A kill by the visitors helped seal the set at 25-23 and tie the match at 1-1.
 
 
SUNY New Paltlz anchored in the third and fourth, as it got up by seven at 20-13 in the third set after Braun tallied back-to-back assists on kills by Weigand and Lexi Stragalas. Perez eventually gave the Hawks set points on a smashing kill on a free ball at the net. The Brewers rallied with four-straight points, but the visitors bailed them out, hitting into the net to conclude the period.
 
A 9-0 run in the fourth decided the final stanza thanks to five aces by Weigand in the run. Holding a commanding, 15-6 lead, the Hawks rolled through the fourth and eventually got to match point at 24-17 thanks to a kill by Weigand. Vassar narrowly rallied to force a deciding fifth set, but following a timeout, Braun set up Stragalas for the game-winning kill to conclude the four-set victory.  
 
SUNY New Paltz ends its regular season Saturday at home in a tri-match in the Hawk Center, facing Stevens at 11 a.m. and Drew University at 4 p.m.


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