New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York New Paltz held off a rally from visiting Western Connecticut State Wednesday night in the Hawk Center to pull out a five-set victory, (27-25, 25-23, 22-25, 15-25, 15-12).
 
The Hawks, riddled with injuries, had a number of players step onto the floor and make an impact. Lola Konopa finished with a career-high six blocks and was a presence at the net, while senior Letisha Perez had her best game of the season, leading her team with 14 kills and five blocks including the game-winning solo block to secure the win for her team.
 
SUNY New Paltz grinded out a first set victory that needed extra points to decide the winner. The Hawks held what seemed like a comfortable lead at 21-14 following an ace by Jamie Albrecht, but WestConn went on a 6-0 run that found them within one. The visitors stormed back to get to set point at 24-23, but a kill by Konopa tied the score at 24 and allowed the Hawks to side out with Mia Colombo serving. Playing a good ball in, Perez swung hard for a kill on an assist from Elena Savage to push her team set point. The Wolves tied the score once more, but Perez again came through with a kill with Savage going back to her All-Region middle. Albrecht then sealed the win getting up for the solo bock to push her team ahead, 1-0.
 
The second set was tight once again with the score tied at 22 following a four-point run by the Wolves. Lexi Stragalas swung for a kill to side-out for SUNY New Paltz with each team trading serves to get the Hawks to set point. Again, Perez made sure to close out on the next play, registering another kill off a set from Savage.
 
SUNY New Paltz struggled offensively in the third, hitting a -.086 as a team with the Wolves taking advantage and pushing the match to a fourth set. The visitors took all momentum into the ensuing period and rolled to a 10-point victory, as the game then entered a fifth and deciding set.
 
 
The fifth saw five different lead changes with the score tied five times. Christine Balbona came in the fourth and provided a jolt. She re-entered in the fifth and came up with a huge kill off a set from Savage to tie the stanza at 8-all and handed her team back serve. Perez registered a kill to give her team the lead, but WestConn countered with a 3-0 run before Balbona put an end to the stretch with another kill. The Wolves saw a 12-10 cushion, but Perez took over from there.  
First, getting up for a solo block to make the score 12-11, WestConn was forced into a hitting error with Savage serving on the point. Mirella Valluzzi, playing maybe her best game as a Hawk, came up clutch with one of her season-high eight kills to give her team the lead. Perez then solidified match point with a solo block and ended the game on a long rally with her second-straight block to seal the win.
 
Perez finished with a game-high 21 points. Albrecht followed with 15.5 points on 10 kills, four aces, two blocks and a game- and career-high 25 digs. Konopa finished with 11.5 points, while Valluzzi added nine points, adding a block, three digs while hitting a productive .250 on the night. Savage tallied a career-high 46 assists with two aces and four digs. Balbona, meanwhile, posted six kills on nine attempts, hitting .667 with a dig for six points.
 
SUNY New Paltz improved to 3-4 overall with the win and hopes to get above .500 for the first time on the season when it travels to Schenectady, NY to play Skidmore and Williams College Saturday.
 

Game Highlights (video by Xavier Calderon)



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