New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York New Paltz collected its second straight SUNYAC sweep Saturday after comfortably defeating visiting Plattsburgh, 25-22, 25-13, 25-12.
 
The Hawks improved to 12-9 overall and 4-2 in the SUNYAC, while Plattsburgh dropped to 8-12 and 1-4, respectively.
 
SUNY New Paltz relied on its defense and tough serving against the Cardinals, holding their opposition to negative .019 hitting while totaling nine aces, five blocks and 61 digs as a team to help in the win. The Hawks had three players in double-digit digs, while five players registered aces including three with two-plus. Meanwhile in serve receive, SUNY New Paltz tallied just three errors in the game to Plattsburgh's nine.
 
The opening sequence of the first set was tight, as Plattsburgh built a 21-18 lead following four-point run and took its last lead of the set at 22-19 before the Hawks locked in and finished the stanza on a five-point run. Lola Konopa helped ignite the rally, allowing her team to side-out on a kill off an assist from Kim Braun. Jordyn Lewis then served through the run, helped with a solo block from Christine Balbona on the ensuing point. Lewis then aced before Balbona and Reagan Dyba registered a block with Balbona and Dyba recording back-to-back kills, both from Braun, to finalize the 1-0 lead.
 
The Cardinals scored the opening two points of the second, but SUNY New Paltz rolled from there, answering with a five-point run and never relinquished the lead from that point forward in the set. They held a 20-11 advantage following a kill by Courtney Meyer with the Cardinals answering with two consecutive points on a kill and ace, respectively, but a ball handling error allowed the hosts to side out and they took advantage of the momentum, scoring the next four points to earn a 2-0 cushion in the match. Kim Braun served through the run and finished the period with back-to-back aces to lead her team to the 12-point set victory.
 
 
SUNY New Paltz took the momentum into the third with Dyba pushing the team's lead to 12-4 after an ace. Konopa pushed the Hawks to their largest lead at 20-7, finishing strong with a kill off a set from Braun in the middle. A kill by Dyba eventually got the hosts to match point at 24-11 and Nora Keating ended the game with a winning swing off an assist from Braun to cement the 3-0 outcome.
 
Dyba scored a game-high 15 points off 12 kills, an assist, an ace and a team-leading four blocks. Konopa followed with 8.5 points, tallying eight kills and a block. Balbona followed with four kills, an assist, four digs and tied a career-high with four blocks. Weigand chipped in with five kills, an ace and 12 digs. Meyer finished with a game-high 15 digs, while adding a kill, two assists and two aces, while Braun had a game-high 20 assists and three aces, while recording two kills and 11 digs.
 
SUNY New Paltz resumes SUNYAC play Wednesday, going on the road to face Oneonta at 5 p.m.
 

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