Cortland, NY — Following a dominant 3-0 quarterfinal sweep over the Morrisville Mustangs Tuesday, the State University of New York at New Paltz moves on to the SUNYAC Semifinals for the fifth consecutive season. The No. 3-seeded Hawks are set to face off against the No. 2-seeded Oswego Lakers Friday at Whitney T. Corey '43 Gymnasium in Cortland, NY.  

"Our team is really excited heading into the semifinal," said Hawks junior captain Kim Braun. "We know it's not going to be easy, but we've been putting in the work during practice, and we trust that all our preparation will set us up for success." 

SUNY New Paltz (16-13 overall, 6-3 SUNYAC) clinched a third seeded postseason appearance following a winning final regular season conference weekend two weeks ago. The Hawks outlasted Fredonia 3-2 on Oct. 31 before defeating Buffalo State 3-1 the following day. The two victories secured a winning conference season and a trip to the quarterfinals for SUNY New Paltz, but the road to the postseason was not easy.  

The Hawks entered 2025 SUNYAC play with a 3-0 loss to Oswego, an unexpected sweep as SUNY New Paltz defeated the Lakers twice during the 2024 season. After a brief winning streak against Morrisville and SUNY Canton, the Hawks were handed their second conference loss to Cortland, 3-0. The team's resilient mindset came through, as they then took two 3-0 wins over Potsdam and Plattsburgh. However, a 3-1 loss against Oneonta put SUNY New Paltz in an alarming position, as the Hawks dropped to fifth in the conference and needed to win versus Fredonia or Buffalo State to make playoffs — an obstacle they swiftly overcame.  
 

"I think we are very confident going into it, because we've been playing better and more consistent volleyball the last few weeks," said SUNY New Paltz coach Matt Giufre has he has his team primed for its 21st straight playoff push. "All the adversity, all the ups-and-downs, all the film — we're starting to see the payoff in the physical execution but also poise and composure on the court." 

After losing the first set 25-13 against Fredonia, the Hawks rallied back to two straight set wins before falling in the fourth 25-19. In the forced fifth set, SUNY New Paltz held the lead for the majority of the set and was able to seal the gritty win with a kill by sophomore outside Maria Weigand, who led the Hawks offensively against Fredonia. The positive momentum was carried into the next day, as the Hawks defeated the Bengals in four sets with offensive efforts from Weigand, freshman outside Regan Dyba and sophomore middle Nora Keating with the trio combining for 38 points. Defensive efforts lifted SUNY New Paltz on the weekend as well, with Lola Konopa tallying nine blocks and Lexi Stragalas recording six in both games. Both wins came from full team efforts, a common theme throughout the Hawks' season.  

"With all the ups and downs of our season, we have come out so much stronger," Braun said. "We've got an amazing group of talented people and that connection and hard work are what we're counting on to carry us through." 

In the midst of a career season, Braun has developed into one of the best players for SUNY New Paltz and became a cornerstone in the Hawks' rotation. The junior setter and co-captain has started 27 matches and amassed 619 assists and 220 digs in 94 sets played while leading the team on and off the court. 

"She's the reason our offense has gotten better," Giufre said of Braun. "Being our full-time setter, you've seen this really cool transformation in her... Her and I have great communication. We talk every day off the court, in practice and throughout the match, sharing ideas and thoughts and she's not afraid to tell me if her idea is better than mine and vice-versa, but she just genuinely cares about the team and her teammates so much that she knows how impactful her presence is. She knows how impactful talking people up are and knows how to help the hitters trust themselves… She just has this unique way about her that the position is perfect for. And all the work she's put in, she's executing the skills of being a setter at a really high level too. She's really the person who keeps it all functioning out there." 

This year, Braun has been complemented offensively by outside hitters Dyba and Weigand. Dyba assimilated into the starting lineup with ease, as the freshman leads SUNY New Paltz in kills (266), along with registering 172 digs and 26 blocks. Dyba stands just ahead of Weigand who, in a breakout sophomore season, has 189 kills and 235 digs on the year. Konopa and Stragalas offer some veteran experience in the starting lineup, with Konopa earning 150 kills, 55 blocks and 46 digs for the Hawks. Stragalas, despite suffering injury earlier in the year, has 147 kills, 43 blocks and 79 kills on the year. The defensive unit is anchored by liberos Courtney Meyer and Jordan Lewis. Lewis has 305 digs on the year, the most for the Hawks, while Meyer has 282 digs in 101 sets played, the junior recording the most action out of the lineup for the year. 
 

The Hawks' well-rounded lineup will face a similarly spread Oswego team. The Lakers (19-8 overall, 7-2 SUNYAC) have earned their best conference record in over 10 years. Led by outside hitter Priscilla McReynolds and middle blocker Kalley Vugteveen, who combine for 514 kills on the year, the Lakers' offense has produced 1128 kills compared to its opponents' 1075. However, Oswego's defense has galvanized their season of the decade as the Lakers boasts strong defensive threats at the net, with Vugteveen putting up 56 blocks and freshman Alaina Dudzinski leading the team and securing a third-place spot in the conference with 86 total blocks. DJ Eidem rounds out the defense at libero with 321 digs on the season.  

"They have good athletes in every position," said Giufre of a talented Lakers team. "They've got hitters that can score in every spot. They use a couple different liberos and defensive players that cover a lot of court. Their setter makes good choices. She's sneaky when she wants to get a kill for herself. They've got a good size block that helps their back row, but we played a lot of big teams this year and started to see some success against them unlike the first time we played them. And, honestly, I think that now that we know more about ourselves and know more about them, we're going to look to attack them differently this time." 

The winner between the Hawks and Lakers will move on to the SUNYAC Championship Saturday, also played in Whitney T. Corey Gymnasium. On the other side of the bracket, the winner of the No. 1 seeded Cortland Red Dragons and the No. 5 Buffalo State Bengals will advance to the finals. The Bengals secured their spot in the semifinals after upsetting No. 4 Fredonia, while Cortland earned a bye into the second round due to their undefeated 9-0 conference record. Game time is set for 4 p.m. Saturday.  

"It'll come to me when we get closer to the match, but it won't be this grandiose message," said Giufre of what his message to the team will be heading into the final four Friday. "It will be more about reinforcing why we're there, reinforcing what we're good at. We talked about one of the things that can set us apart from other teams is our connectedness, practicing as one and being locked in together and playing as one... Through the ups and downs of outcomes and box scores that's been the one constant. If we keep leaning into that we're capable of doing really well." 

View the full SUNYAC Women's Volleyball Tournament brackets by clicking here.
 

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