New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz split its two matches in the Hawk Center Saturday afternoon, earning a four-set victory over New Jersey City (25-21, 23-25, 28-26, 25-19) before falling in four to No. 2 nationally ranked Stevens Institute of Technology (21-25, 25-21, 25-16, 25-19). 
 
The Hawks (6-5 overall) started the day against the Gothic Knights (1-6) and got out to a 1-0 lead after Krish Jain tallied a kill on set point off an assist from Matt Marusza. SUNY New Paltz dropped the second, but persevered through an extended third set to take a pivotal 2-1 lead. 
 
The hosts held a 22-17 advantage in the third, but New Jersey City rallied back with a 6-0 run to grab a 23-22 lead. Freshman Geoff Ndoria stepped in for the Hawks and provided a spark off the bench as he helped tie the set and stall the Gothic Knights run with a kill off a set from Daniel Shanley. Michael Spiegel gave SUNY New Paltz set point, but New Jersey City answered on the next point with the two teams trading serves until a kill by Teddy Teraszkiwicz won back possession for the Hawks before serving through the next two points, which led to back-to-back kills by Ndoria off assists from Shanley to close out the 28-26 win. 
 
SUNY New Paltz took the momentum into the fourth set, as it rolled to a comfortable 20-13 lead thanks to a 10-1 run with Adam Brawn the catalyst as he totaled three kills and a block in the stretch. A service error ultimately got the Hawks to match point with Ndoria closing out the win with a kill on an assist by Shanley.
 
 
Pat Wing led SUNY New Paltz with a game-high 17 kills with Ndoria following, as he totaled a career-high 13 kills off 21 attempts to hit a productive .476 with nine digs and two blocks. Shanley added a team-high 36 assists, while totaling two aces, two kills, three blocks and four digs. 
 
After a break in between games, the Hawks played the No. 2 Ducks and worked back to get within one at 21-20 following a kill by Michael Speigel. Stevens answered with a kill, but SUNY New Paltz sided out after another hard swing by Speigel, but the Ducks scored the last three points thanks to a service error and a hitting error, which led to set point. Stevens then closed out with a kill to take the 1-0 lead. 
 
The second set started out better for SUNY New Paltz, as the hosts took an 8-2 lead before the first timeout of the period. Graham Labeck kept the momentum going with a fantastic kill to bring the score to 10-3 as the team continued to thrive. Speigel was the catalyst though, as he finished the set totaling double-digit kills to help the Hawks to a tied game entering the third set. 
 
 
SUNY New Paltz got into a hole in the third, as it trailed 21-12. Labeck brought the score within seven on a kill, but the Ducks earned set point at 24-16 and took the lead at 2-1 on the next point with a double block. 
 
The fourth was tighter and the Hawks got within three twice down the stretch, at 21-18 — following another kill by Spiegel — and again at 22-19 after a serving error by Stevens. SUNY New Paltz couldn't take advantage though and the Ducks ended the game with three-straight points to hand the Hawks their fifth loss of the season. 
 
Speigel had a career day, as he totaled a game- and career-high 16 kills with two blocks and three digs. Marusza led the team with 39 assists, while Luke Hofer tallied a team-high 10 digs. 
 
SUNY New Paltz returns to the Hawk Center Wednesday when it faces No. 4 Springfield College at 6 p.m.

Game Highlights



**********************
To stay up to date with everything #NPHawks be sure to follow us on Twitter at @nphawks, Instagram and Facebook at @newpaltzhawks, and subscribe to our Youtube channel, New Paltz Hawks.