Rochester, NY — The State University of New York New Paltz worked to push Saturday's match against No. 18 Nazareth to five sets.
After dropping two straight sets following a 25-23 win in the first, the Hawks (11-11 overall, 3-2 UVC) fought to win set four, 26-24 to force a fifth and deciding set. But, the hosting Golden Flyers regrouped and hit a productive .444 in the period to aid in a 15-10 victory to win the match, 3-2.
Despite the loss, the Hawks held the advantage in total points (71-70), kills (57-55), blocks (10-7), assists (52-50) and digs (57-53), but finished the game hitting .193 to Nazareth's .235 with the Golden Flyers totaling eight aces to SUNY New Paltz's four.
The Hawks trailed by two mid-way through the first, but a service error allowed them to side-out with
Nikko Tenedorio tying the match at 17-all following a solo block.
Michael Spiegel served out on the next point, but gave SUNY New Paltz back serve following a kill on the next point.
Daniel Shanley then slammed a kill off a set by
Matt Marusza before Tenedorio aced to push his team ahead, 20-18. SUNY New Paltz never trailed the rest of the set, as a kill by Tenedorio secured set point at 24-21 with the Hawks taking a 1-0 lead following a service error, ending the set at 25-23.
SUNY New Paltz struggled in the second as it looked at a 22-16 deficit in the period. The Golden Flyers got to set point following a service error and secured the 25-20 win after a hitting error to tie the match at 1-1. The hosts then got out to a six-point lead early in the third, but the Hawks clawed their way back to get within one at 17-16 following a 7-2 run capped by an ace from Spiegel. A serving error tied the set at 20-all before a
Geoff Ndoria re-knotted the score at 21-all. SUNY New Paltz never managed to get ahead though, as Nazareth took a 24-22 lead before finalizing the 2-1 lead on a service error by the Hawks to claim the fourth, 25-23.
SUNY New Paltz faced a 17-14 deficit in the fourth, but it stayed around to tie the score at 18-all thanks to a kill by
Mike Handell. The Golden Flyers scored two straight points, but the Hawks countered with a kill by Tenedorio and an attacking error to create a 20-20 stalemate. After serving out, SUNY New Paltz scored three-straight on kills by
Krish Jain, Tenedorio and Spiegel to take a 23-21 advantage. Ndoria gave his team set point at 24-22 following a kill, but the Golden Flyers stayed resilient and tied the score one last time at 24-all. A service error revived the Hawks and a block by Handell and Tenedorio sealed the fourth, 26-24 to push the game into a fifth set.
SUNY New Paltz went up by two at 7-5, but Nazareth countered with four-straight points to re-take the lead it never relinquished the rest of the way. Jain brought his team closer at 12-10 following a kill, but the Golden Flyers closed out with three-straight points including consecutive kills to end the match, 15-10.
Tenedorio was the catalyst, finishing with a game-high 20 kills off 41 attempts, hitting .268 with one assist, one ace, four blocks and a team-leading 11 digs for game-high 24 points. Spiegel followed with 12 kills, an ace, three blocks and 11 digs, while Jain added nine kills, hitting .412 with an assist, four blocks and four digs. Shanley chipped in with five kills, 13 assists, a block and four digs. Marusza finished with a team-high 35 assists with one kill, one block and 10 digs.
SUNY New Paltz is back in action Sunday, staying in Rochester to take on No. 12 St. John Fisher at 1 p.m.
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