Springfield, MA — The State University of New York New Paltz four-game winning streak came to an end Thursday on the road against No. 7 nationally ranked Springfield in four sets (14-25, 25-19, 23-25, 17-25).
The hosting Pride held the advantage offensively on the night, scoring more points (60-40), registering more kills (47-30), assists (45-28) and out-hitting the Hawks, 388-.150 in the match.
However, after dropping the first set, 25-14, SUNY New Paltz was more efficient in the following two periods, hitting .500 and .316, respectively.
In the second, a 3-0 run early by SUNY New Paltz snagged the advantage following a 7-7 tied stanza.
Geoff Ndoria,
Nikko Tenedorio and
Mike Handell all swung for kills in the stretch, which allowed the Hawks to stay in front the rest of the way. They created some separation with four-straight points after a serving error cut the score to 17-15 for Springfield.
A service error let SUNY New Paltz side-out with Handell serving for ace on the next point, which was followed with kills by
Krish Jain and Tenedorio to push the lead to 21-15.
Daniel Shanley eventually gave his team set point with an ace before he set Tenedorio for the win two points later to close out the 25-19 victory and tied the match at one set apiece.
The Hawks climbed out of a five-point hole in the third with the Pride holding a 19-14 advantage following a kill. A serving error gave the ball back to the visitors who answered with a Tenedorio kill and Ndoria ace to cut the score, 19-17. Springfield sided-out with a kill and scored consecutive points to take a 22-17 lead before getting to set point at 24-20 following another kill. SUNY New Paltz fought to keep the period alive and was helped with a service error that allowed Tenedorio to serve the next two points which led to an attacking error and an ace to get the Hawks within one at 24-23. However, Tenedorio couldn't get his team one more to tie the score, serving out to allow Springfield to earn a 25-23 win and a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Pride went up big at 17-9 in the fourth set, but Jain capped a 5-0 run for SUNY New Paltz with a kill to create a three-point difference midway through the stanza. However, the offense stalled the rest of the way for the Hawks, as Springfield scored seven of the next nine points to earn match point at 24-16. The two teams traded serving errors that closed the game out for the Pride, winning the final set, 25-17.
Tenedorio led SUNY New Paltz offensively with 12.5 points. He finished with nine kills, two aces, two blocks and three digs. Jain recorded seven kills, one ace and a block. Shanley tallied a team-high 28 assists, while adding one ace.
The Hawks are back in action Saturday, traveling to Patchogue, NY to face St. Joseph's-Long Island for a 3:30 p.m. match.
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