Brooklyn, NY — The State University of New York New Paltz United Volleyball Conference Championship hopes came to an end Saturday, falling to top-seeded and No. 1 team in the country NYU in four sets.
 
The hosting Violets held the advantage in nearly every statistical category, including points (72-49), kills (55-39), aces (9-6), blocks (8-4), assists (54-38), digs (39-30) and hitting percentage (.349-.247).
 
Nikko Tenedorio led the team offensively with 12.5 points, registering nine kills, three assists, three aces, a block and seven digs. Matt Teplansky followed with 9.5 points on nine kills, a block and two digs. Krish Jain added 8.5 points on seven kills and three blocks. Matt Marusza tallied a team-high 19 assists with one dig, while Daniel Shanley wasn't too far behind, totaling 14 assists with five kills, one ace and six digs.
 
The first set was tight with the score tied at 12, 13 and 14-all until a two-point swing allowed NYU to hold onto a slight advantage. SUNY New Paltz continued being within one but couldn't string together enough of a run to re-gain the lead. A kill by Teplansky followed by ace from Tenedorio trimmed the score to 22-21 in favor of the hosts, but a kill allowed the Violets to side out. Shanley swung for a kill off a set from Marusza, but a serving error pushed NYU to set point. Following a service error of their own, they closed out the set with a successful swing to finalize the 25-23 set one outcome.
 
SUNY New Paltz was never in the second as the Violets held all the momentum. They led by nine at 23-19 following a kill and eventually held set point at 24-16 before sealing the 2-0 lead on another kill.  
The Hawks fought back in the third to extend the match into a fourth. They trailed early in the stanza before a 5-0 run tied the period at 13-all with Peter Brutschin serving through the stretch. Teplansky, Geoff Ndoria and Shanley all registered kills to help in the run. SUNY New Paltz officially took the lead at 15-14 after a block by Jain and Ndoria. The Hawks stayed in front until a three-point run by NYU grabbed a 22-21 lead. The two teams exchanged points before Jain helped his team side-out with a kill. Shanley served the last two points leading to back-to-back attacking errors, capped with a block from Jain and Ndoria to seal a 25-23 win.
 
The Violets never trailed the fourth set and took match point after three straight points coming from the service line, pushing the score to 24-16. A serving error allowed the Hawks to side out and they proceeded to score the next two points following an attacking error and an ace by Carter Lotz to get within five at 24-19. NYU won the next point however with a kill, solidifying the four-set win.
 
The Violets move onto the finals Sunday against Nazareth. The Hawks, meanwhile, conclude their 2025 campaign at 14-14 overall after notching their eighth UVC semifinal appearance. They return the bulk of their roster next year, graduating just two in outsides Christopher Larkin and Lotz.


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