New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York New Paltz opened up the NP Challenge Tournament Friday night in the Hawk Center against Kean and Mount Saint Vincent University, splitting the matches between the two foes.
 
The Hawks, who will play host to the annual NP Challenge Tournament over the course of Friday and Saturday, which includes Kean, Mount Saint Vincent, St. John Fisher and US Merchant Marine Academy, dropped their opening match against the Cougars in straight sets (25-20, 26-24, 25-15), but came back to defeat the Dolphins in three (25-13, 25-16, 25-14) to boost their record to 7-6 overall.
 
Against Kean to start the afternoon, SUNY New Paltz rolled out a new starting lineup to try and ignite its offense that struggled over the weekend at the Misericordia Tournament. After dropping the first set to the Cougars, 25-20, the Hawks started to pick up a flow midway through the second stanza.
 
Reagan Dyba pushed SUNY New Paltz ahead, 14-13 in the second finishing on a rally with middle Lola Konopa picking up the assist on the play. Kean answered with a 4-0 run, but Maria Weigand put an end to the stretch with a kill off an assist from setter Kim Braun. Kean took its most comfortable lead at 22-17 before Weigand again smashed a kill to allow her team to side out. The Cougars gained a point back, but Braun went to Dyba on the outside to grab serve for the hosts.
 
Lexi Stragalas served through a 5-0 run for the Hawks, starting the stretch with an ace before Konopa picked up a kill on a free ball. Stragalas continued to serve hard, forcing a poor pass and a setting error for Kean before Dyba capped the run on a big swing to tie the game at 23-all. The two teams traded points with Braun catching the Cougars out of system with a dump over the net to knot the score at 24-all, but Kean scored the last two points on a kill and a hitting error to take a 2-0 lead in the match.  
The Cougars rolled in the third, earning match point at 24-14 on an ace. Konopa tallied one last kill in the match, but a service error concluded the set, 25-15, and the match, 3-0.
 
SUNY New Paltz hit .176 as a team, registering 41 points, 33 kills, five aces, three blocks, 29 assists and 44 digs. Weigand led the team with 11 kills, while totaling two assists and six digs for 11 points. Dyba followed with eight kills, an ace, a block and nine digs for 9.5 points. Konopa registered six kills, two assists and three blocks. Braun finished with a team-high 23 assists, while Jordyn Lewis led the team defensively with 14 digs and an ace.
 
The Hawks returned to the floor later in the night and had a dominant effort against Mount Saint Vincent. They hit a productive .269 as a team, totaling 57 points, 40 kills, 13 aces, four blocks, 36 assists and 56 digs while keeping the Dolphins in the teens through three sets.
 
A 5-0 run served through by Courtney Meyer helped the hosts push the lead to 10 at 19-9 with Braun capping the stretch with a kill. SUNY New Paltz eventually took a 23-12 advantage after an ace by Lexi Stragalas and a hitting error by Mount Saint Vincent. The two teams traded points to edge the Hawks to set point with Konopa sealing the 1-0 lead with a kill off an assist by Braun.
 
An ace trimmed SUNY New Paltz's cushion to 14-12 in the second set, but it responded by scoring eight of the next nine points to take a commanding, 22-13 advantage. Stragalas again served through the run, tallying an ace while being helped by kills from Konopa and Dyba to allow the Hawks some separation in the stanza. Konopa eventually gave her team set point with a kill at 24-16 before an attacking error sealed the second, 25-16.
 
SUNY New Paltz was up big in the third, as an ace by Stragalas created a 20-9 difference. Konopa again helped her team to match point off a set from Elena Savage with Konopa fittingly sealing the victory on a solo block at 25-14.
 
Weigand led the team offensively with 10 kills, hitting a productive .563 in the match on 16 attempts, while tying a career-high five aces to go along with nine digs and 15 points. Konopa followed with nine kills on 16 attempts, hitting .375 with an assist, a team-high three blocks and five digs. Dyba chipped in with nine kills and nine digs. Braun tallied a game-high 30 assists with an ace, while Lewis finished with a game-high 14 digs.
 
SUNY New Paltz is back in the Hawk Center to conclude Day 2 of the NP Challenge Tournament, facing St. John Fisher at 11 a.m. before closing out the night against United States Merchant Marine Academy at 5:45 p.m.

Hawks vs MSV Game Highlights (video by Lorenzo Chen)


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