New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York New Paltz concluded day two of its annual Hawks Invitational Saturday in the Hawk Center, splitting its set of matches with a five-set win over Russell Sage before falling to Union College in four.
 
The Hawks, coming off a sweep of Mount Saint Mary's College Friday night to open the Hawks Invitational, needed five sets to keep their undefeated record alive against the Sage Gators with SUNY New Paltz winning, 25-23, 17-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-7.
 
Lexi Stragalas and Reagan Dyba led the way offensively combining for 29.5 points on 23 kills. Dyba also added three aces and 12 digs, while Stragalas finished with an ace, two blocks and three digs. Kim Braun facilitated the offense, as she finished with a team-high 24 assists. Libero Courtney Meyer totaled a season-high 20 digs.
 
Back-to-back kills by Maria Weigand and Elena Savage gave the Hawks a 23-14 lead in the first, but the Gators stormed back with a 9-0 rally to tie the set at 23-all. An attacking error ended the stretch and SUNY New Paltz took advantage as Kim Braun served for set point with Stragalas swinging for a kill off an assist by Braun.  
 
After the Gators tied the match with a win in the second, the two teams played a tight third set as Sage scored two straight points to tie at 19-all. A block by Dyba allowed the Hawks to side-out with Stragalas serving the next point, which resulted in a hitting error for the visitors to push SUNY New Paltz ahead by two. After trading points, Dyba smashed a free ball to allow Braun to serve again, and the junior captain pushed her team to set point with an ace. An attacking error sealed the win for the Hawks as they took a 2-1 lead in the match.  
The inconsistent play continued for the hosts as Sage stormed out to a 22-13 lead in the fourth. SUNY New Paltz clawed its way back to get within two after the Gators earned set point thanks to a 7-0 run served through by Braun, but Sage put an end to the stretch with a kill to extend the match to a fifth deciding set.
 
SUNY New Paltz regrouped in the final period and worked its way to a 7-2 lead, as Lola Konopa swung for back-to-back kills to aid in the five-point cushion. Sage kept fighting and thinned the difference to two as the Hawks held an 8-6 advantage at the switch. Konopa allowed her team to side out after registering another kill with Dyba serving through the next six points, which included consecutive aces to fatten the cushion tot 13-6. Konopa came through again with a kill to get her team to match point and Maria Weigand and Stragalas put an exclamation point on the win with a big block to seal the five-set victory.
 
SUNY New Paltz struggled in game two in the night cap against the Garnet Chargers, suffering its first loss of the season, 25-16, 20-25, 25-15, 25-15.
 
The Hawks struggled offensively, hitting just .109 with 44 kills. Dyba and Weigand were the catalyst, finishing with 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Stragalas followed with eight kills to go with a team-leading two aces and four blocks. Braun and Savage facilitated the offense with 16 and 13 assists, respectively. Meyer led the team defensively, finishing with a team-high 18 digs.
 
SUNY New Paltz is back in action Wednesday, going on the road to face Western Connecticut State at 6 p.m. before entering the Union College Tournament over the weekend where it'll go up against Hartwick and Williams College.  

Hawks vs. Sage Highlights (video by Xavier Zykoff)


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