Cortland, NY — The State University of New York New Paltz 2025 season came to an end Friday night in the SUNYAC Semifinal round against No. 2 seeded Oswego in three sets (25-19, 25-14, 25-18).
 
The Hawks (16-14 overall, 6-3 SUNYAC) battled through injuries along their starting rotation and ultimately couldn't match the Lakers (20-8, 7-2) offensively, as they totaled 38 points and 25 kills while hitting a negative .019 in the match. Oswego, meanwhile, held the advantage in both categories (51 points and 40 kills, respectively), while hitting .252 on the night. SUNY New Paltz served hard, however, to keep the game tight in the first and third sets, but it wasn't enough to secure the win to advance onto the championship round Saturday.
 
SUNY New Paltz opened up the match with a 4-0 run, helped by Lexi Stragalas at the serving line who registered one of her team-leading four aces in the stanza. Oswego eventually settled in and took its first lead at 7-6 following a block in the middle. The two teams then swapped the advantage eight times down the stretch with Lola Konopa tying the set for one last time at 19-all, connecting for a kill off an assist from Kim Braun. The Lakers sided out on a kill on the following point and proceeded to end the first with a 6-0 run where they tallied four kills in the stretch to snatch a 1-0 lead.
 
Oswego dominated the second set, hitting .316 with 16 kills and ballooned its cushion to as many as 12 at 21-9 before earning set point at 24-13 with a block. Nora Keating extended the period with a kill on the ensuing point, but the Lakers answered on the next ball served in to secure the 25-14 victory.  
Stragalas served consecutive aces to push SUNY New Paltz ahead, 8-2 early in the third, but a 7-0 Oswego run pushed the No. 2 seed in front for the first time and never trailed from that point forward. Mirella Valluzzi subbed in and swung for a kill off a set from Elena Savage to end the unanswered stretch, but the Lakers responded with six-straight points helped by three attacking errors from the Hawks. Kills by Oswego's Gigi Basile and Alaina Dudzinski brought the difference to seven at 20-13 before Stragalas earned a point back for her side on a kill. SUNY New Paltz struggled to swing the momentum its way, however, as the Lakers stormed through another four-point run to earn match point at 24-15. Valluzzi kept the stanza alive with a kill and Konopa and Reagan Dyba followed with a big block on the right side to chip away at the lead. Stragalas aced to revive some life for her side, but Oswego closed the door on any thoughts of a comeback, getting a well served ball by Stragalas in play and finishing the rally with a kill to earn the win and advance to the finals against top seeded and tournament host Cortland.
 
Stragalas led the team with nine points on four kills, four aces, two blocks, an assist and three digs. Konopa added 7.5 points on six kills and three blocks to go along with two digs. Keating followed with five kills, three blocks and three digs. Braun and Savage each had 10 assists with the former tallying six digs and a block as well. Courtney Meyer paced the team defensively with a team high 11 digs.

Meyer was named to the SUNYAC All-Tournament team for the Hawks, joining fellow All-Touranment Team members: Karlie Shaffer (Buffalo State), Mya Bush (Oswego), Kalley Vugteveen (Oswego), Alyssa Rich (Cortland), Emalee Vallou (Cortland) and MVP Lauren Millspaugh (Cortland).
 
SUNY New Paltz ends the year with its fourth-straight winning season, 21st straight overall postseason and fifth consecutive semifinal appearance. It graduates two seniors in Valluzzi and outside Kailey Jankowski.
 

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