Hoboken, NJ — The three-game winning streak stalled against No. 2 Stevens Tuesday night for the State University of New York at New Paltz.
 
The Hawks fell in straight sets to the nationally ranked Ducks, 25-14, 25-18, 25-17.
 
SUNY New Paltz (9-7 overall) struggled offensively throughout the night and finished with a .108 hitting average while Stevens hit .414. The hosts dominated in virtually every statistical category, playing big at the net with eight blocks while registering 31 digs as a team to the Hawks' 20 and totaling 39 kills versus 28 for the latter.
 
The Ducks got out to a 20-9 lead in the first set and never looked back, holding set point at 24-12 before a kill two points later sealed the 1-0 lead. SUNY New Paltz fought in a back-and-forth second set, tying the score at 11, 12 and 13-all on kills by Krish Jain and Graham Labeck off assists from freshman setter and reigning UVC Rookie of the Week recipient Matt Marusza, but Stevens countered with a 5-0 run, which propelled the second set victory. The Hawks came back to get within three following a kill by Pat Wing and an ace from Marusza to push the score to 21-18, but the hosts ended the set with four straight points to earn the win.
 
Consecutive serving errors allowed the Hawks to get within two at 12-10 and 13-11 midway through the third, but the Ducks started cushioning their lead with kills by Koby Sherman, Nathan Lancia and Tyler Hoke to create a five-point lead. SUNY New Paltz couldn't climb back in with Stevens getting to match point at 24-16 and following a service error took the win on an miss hit by the Hawks to close out the sweep.
 
Wing was the lone bright spot on the offensive end for SUNY New Paltz, finishing with 13 kills on 28 attempts to hit .321 with an ace and two digs for a team-leading 14 points. Marusza finished with 22 assists to go along with an ace and a dig.
 
The Hawks are back in action Thursday when they hit the road to face Arcadia in Glenside, PA for a 7 p.m.

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