Albany, NY — The State University of New York New Paltz traveled up to Albany to face hosting Sage College and Rivier University Saturday and came away with two four-set victories.
 
The Hawks opened up the afternoon against the Gators and earned a 3-1 victory (25-8, 23-25, 25-17, 25-20). SUNY New Paltz dominated in every statistical category including points (63-49), kills (46-37), aces (11-7), blocks (6-5), assists (46-34), digs (38-36) and hitting percentage (.354-.054).
 
SUNY New Paltz rolled through a quick first set after an 8-0 run, served through by Krish Jain who pushed the team out in front, 13-3 with Jain capping the stretch with an ace. Matt Kudlinski served through a 5-0 run after a service error allowed the Hawks to side out. Daniel Shanley capped the rally with a kill to get the score to 23-6 with Jain pushing his side to set point on a kill. Nikko Tenedorio solidified the 1-0 lead two points later, swinging for a kill off a set from Shanley to conclude the first.
 
The Gators rallied in the second and scored the final two points after Michael Spiegel tied the set with a kill at 23-all. A kill by Dylan Fox got the hosts to set point with Fox then serving for ace to tie the match at 1-1.
 
Fox gave Sage the last point with a lead at 7-5 until Matt Marusza served through a 5-0 run, capped with a kill from Mike Handell to push SUNY New Paltz in front and it never relinquished the lead from that point forward. The Gators closed the gap to 15-14, but a service error allowed the Hawks to gain momentum, as Brady Cascone held serve and aided in an ensuing 7-0 run, capped by a kill from Marusza to grab a 22-14 advantage for his side. Sage gained back two points, but a service error allowed SUNY New Paltz to side-out with Artair Kayser serving for kill to get his team to set point. John Giotis then put an end to the set two points later, swinging for a kill to grab his team a 2-1 lead in the match.  
SUNY New Paltz was up by five until Sage tied the fourth at 16-all thanks to three aces in a 5-0 run midway through the stanza. The Hawks countered with three-straight points to flex the lead needed to stay in control. Kayser helped his team side-out at 22-18 with two straight attacking error from the Gators allowing SUNY New Paltz reach match point. Kayser then officially put the finishing touches on the win three points later, swinging for a kill off a set from Marusza.
 
Michael Spiegel led the Hawks with 13 points off 12 kills, an ace and five digs. Kayser followed with 11 points on nine kills, hitting .615, with an ace, two blocks and a dig. Marusza facilitated the office, ending with a team-high 33 assists with two blocks and two digs. Max DeBonis led the team defensively with a team-high seven digs.
 
Game two mirrored game one, as SUNY New Paltz rolled to a 1-0 lead against Rivier after taking the opening set, 25-14. The Raiders were in control for set two and although the Hawks got within one thanks to a block by Tenedorio and Jain, a kill allowed Rivier to side-out. Shanley won back serve with a kill, but the Raiders countered with three straight points and eventually held set point at 24-20 before acing on the next point to take the win, 25-20.
 
The Hawks were up in the third before a 4-0 run allowed the Raiders to own a 15-14 lead. Tenedorio registered a kill to allow SUNY New Paltz to side-out with Shanley acing on the following point. SUNY New Paltz never trailed from there as it scored three consecutive points after the Raiders tied the game at 21-all to get to set point thanks to a Tenedorio kill. A service error concluded the period two points later, which gave the Hawks a 2-1 lead in the match.  
 
The fourth was dominant by SUNY New Paltz as Shanley registered another ace to establish a 10-point advantage at 17-7. Rivier stayed within striking distance rallying to get within three after the Hawks earned set point at 24-18 following a serving error, but Teplansky solidified the win on a kill off a set from Shanley to cement the 25-21 victory.
 
Tenedorio was the catalyst, as the sophomore finished with a game-high 20 points on 17 kills, hitting .367 with an ace, an assist, three blocks and four digs. Geoff Ndoria followed with 17 points on 13 kills, hitting .455 with an assist, two aces, two blocks and three digs. Teplansky added 11 kills, three assists, three blocks and five digs for 12.5 points. Shanley finished with a game-high 37 assists with a game-high four aces to go along with a block and a team-leading eight digs.
 
SUNY New Paltz is back in action Wednesday, going on the road to face No. 1 Springfield at 7 p.m. before returning home to face St. John Fisher Friday and Rutgers-Newark and SUNY Poly Saturday.


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