Boston, MA — The State University of New York New Paltz traveled to Boston to face Endicott College and No. 13 nationally ranked Wentworth Saturday in Tansey Gymnasium, splitting the two games after sweeping the Gulls (25-20, 25-2125-23) before falling to the Leopards in five (25-23, 25-27, 22-25, 25-11, 10-15).
 
No. 12 SUNY New Paltz hit an efficient .432 against Endicott in its first match of the day as the Hawks also scored more points (51-46), had more kills (40-37) and assists (37-35), while defensively totaled more blocks (7-4) and digs (28) in the three-set victory.
 
Geoff Ndoria was the catalyst in the win, as he posted a game-high 12 points on 10 kills (hitting .444) with an assist, two blocks and five digs. Nikko Tenedorio followed with 10.5 points, also adding 10 kills with a block and six digs. Daniel Shanley facilitated the offense, as the senior totaled a game-high 34 assists to go along with two kills, an ace, a block and two digs.
 
SUNY New Paltz led by two in set one, but a kill from Ndoria on a set from Shanley allowed the Hawks to side-out, which resulted in a 4-0 run served through by Ndoria that proved to be enough cushion to hold on down the stretch. Ndoria swung for a kill to push his team to set point at 24-19 and two points later, Peter Brustchin tallied a kill in the middle off an assist from Shanley to close out the first, 25-20.
 
The second stanza was tighter between the two sides, but SUNY New Paltz closed on a 2-0 lead after ending the set with four-straight points to win, 25-21. Mike Handell served through the run, tallying an ace before a solo block by Ndoria sealed the victory.  
The Gulls rallied to get within one at 24-23 after Matt Teplansky helped the Hawks to match point on a hard swing from the right side off a set from Shanley, but a service error concluded the period, 25-23 and the set, 3-0.
 
SUNY New Paltz took its momentum into the opening stanza against Wentworth (6-1 overall) as Krish Jain helped his team to a 1-0 lead with a kill on set point to earn the Hawks a 25-23 first-set victory. The second set was tight, needing extra points to decide the winner. The score was tied at 23-all before Tenedorio registered a kill to push his team to set point. The Leopards answered with back-to-back kills to also earn their first set-point of the period, but a service error kept SUNY New Paltz alive. They sided-out immediately though on a kill before acing to tie the match 1-1 following the 27-25 victory.
 
Wentworth took the lead with a 25-22 victory in the third, holding set point at 24-21 following an attacking error before concluding the lead on a kill two points later. However, the Hawks rolled through the fourth to force a fifth set. Wentworth registered just five kills in set and SUNY New Paltz easily strung together points to get to set point at 24-10 on a kill from Shanley on a free ball. Jain officially tied the match two points later off an assist from Shanley to conclude the period, 25-11.
 
Tied at seven to start the fifth, a kill by the Leopards allowed them to snatch a one-point advantage at the switch. The Hawks tied the score at 8- and 9-all off a serving error and a kill from Jain, but a 3-0 run allowed Wentworth to create enough of a cushion to swing momentum. Michael Spiegel ended the run with a kill for SUNY New Paltz, but the Hawks couldn't pile on, as a kill by the Leopards sparked another three-point unanswered run leading to the 15-10 victory.
 
SUNY New Paltz hand balanced scoring offensively with Tenedorio leading the way with 12 kills. Teplansky followed with nine kills with Handell and Spiegel eaching having seven apiece. Shanley totaled a team-leading 38 assists, while recording a game- and career-high 19 digs, along with a game-high four aces with three blocks and 10.5 points.
 
SUNY New Paltz (4-3 overall) is back in action Tuesday, going on the road to take on Baruch at 7 p.m.


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