New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York New Paltz overcame back-to-back five-set conference losses with some redemption Wednesday, upsetting No. 9 Vassar in five (21-25, 25-20, 26-24, 21-25, 15-12) in the Hawk Center.
 
SUNY New Paltz played tough defensively, accounting for 55 digs and 17 blocks as it kept points alive with active play all over the court. The result was its fourth United Volleyball Conference win of the season staying within the top five on the conference leaderboard.
 
After the Brewers (18-3 overall, 4-2 UVC) earned a 25-21 win in the first, the Hawks started picking up momentum in the second. Coach Radu Petrus called an early timeout at 9-7 to ice Vassar and the strategy worked as the Brewers helped SUNY New Paltz side-out after serving into the net, which ignited a three-point run to get the hosts out in front at 10-9. The Hawks never trailed in the set from then on, as Krish Jain ripped a ball off the chest of a Vassar player in the middle of the floor to boost his team's lead to 14-12 before the Brewers could build any momentum.
 
Matt Kudlinski subbed in to serve on the next point and the sophomore served hard, leading to a tough pass and miss-hit by Vassar. The two teams then traded serves before another 3-0 run helped SUNY New Paltz to a four-point lead. After the Brewers won back a point, Daniel Shanley immediately sided out on a hard swing from the outside to boost SUNY New Paltz up, 20-16. Tenedorio provided a 21-17 lead two points later, as he sailed in from the back row to make the most of a broken play and register a kill for the Hawks. Mike Handell officially gave the hosts set point, as he smashed a ball off his blocker, erupting the home bench and crowd. Shanley then tied the match with a kill on the next play, concluding the second at 25-20.
 
Petrus called a timeout midway through the third set after Vassar's serve hit the top of the net and rolled over to the other side for an ace to extend the visitors run to three. SUNY New Paltz slowly worked its way back. Peter Brutschin subbed in and served for ace to get the Hawks within one at 18-17. Serves were traded to tie the score at 19 before the Brewers scored three-straight to get three points away from the win. They served out, which put the ball in the hands of Shanley who served through three-straight points with Tenedorio the benefactor. Vassar had no answer for the freshman, as Tenedorio swung through back-to-back blocks on the outside resulting in kills and tying the period at 22-22, leading to a Brewers timeout.  
Vassar recovered and earned set point after Jain was called at the net on an attempted block before Tenedorio was blocked to bring the Brewers a 24-22 lead. He immediately won a point back for his team though on the next play, as Matt Marusza went his way on the outside for a kill. Kudlinski returned to serve the following point and after a long rally, the Brewers couldn't recover out of rotation which led to a hitting error and tied the score at 24-all.
 
Kudlinski continued to serve well, and his team backed him up, as Brutschin got up for a solo block in the middle to capture set point for his team before Tenedorio sealed the 2-1 lead as he timed his block perfectly on the outside and cement the 26-24 win.
 
The Hawks led, 18-17 in the fourth but Vassar scored five-straight points and eventually got to set point at 24-21 following a Tenedorio hitting error. The Brewers registered a kill on the next point and forced the match into a deciding fifth set.
 
SUNY New Paltz led, 8-6 at the switch but Vassar scored four-straight to take a 10-8 lead, forcing Petrus into a timeout. Shanley answered out of the break, going up for a kill before the Brewers hit out to tie the match at 10-10. Shanley then helped the Hawks to the advantage after setting Tenedorio who beat his blockers on the outside for a kill. Shanley again was the catalyst on the next point, diving to save a ball that was heading just inside the open court, and his effort was capitalized on as Marusza used the pass to set Tenedorio once again for another kill.
 
The Brewers got within one at 12-11 following a kill, but a nice pass off a Shanley service reception led to a set and spike by Marusza to Tenedorio, lifting the Hawks ahead 13-11. Kudlinski came in to serve once more and the Brewers had trouble handling, leading to a double block by Brutschin and Teplanksy on the right side. After spotting Vassar a point on a service error, SUNY New Paltz locked in the win on one last swing by Tenedorio to win the fifth, 15-12.
 
Tenedorio tallied a career- and game-high 23 kills on 45 attempts, hitting .356 with two aces, three blocks and 11 digs for a career-high 27 points. Shanley followed with 14 kills, four assists, an ace, a block and 10 digs. Marusza was the main facilitator, totaling a game-high 42 assists with one kill, four blocks and a team-high 14 digs. Jain was crucial in the front row for the Hawks, totaling a career-high nine blocks with two digs and five kills.
 
SUNY New Paltz closes out the regular season at home next weekend, hosting Baruch and Juniata College April 5 in the Hawk Center.
 
  
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