New Paltz, NY — One last UVC Championship awaits for the Hawks.
 
In a nail-biting extended four set match, the No. 1 seed State University of New York New Paltz closed out the win over No. 3 seeded Hobart Statesmen Saturday in the Hawk Center in the semifinal round of the United Volleyball Conference Tournament to secure a spot in the last championship game in the existence of the UVC.
 
It was a revenge game for the Hawks who dropped a five-set match on the road against Hobart in their last week of the regular season, which not only put an end to a 12-game winning streak but put their hosting rights in jeopardy, needing help to fully secure the top seed. Ultimately, SUNY New Paltz earned the No. 1 spot and after the Statesmen defeated No. 5 Vassar in four in the quarterfinal round Friday night the re-match was set.
 
The Hawks were dominant in the first two sets, but Hobart gained life in the third to extend the match into the fourth where they led for the majority. Down by as many as five mid-way through, SUNY New Paltz began to rally as veteran coach Radu Petrus went to his bench to provide a spark. Michael Spiegel subbed in for his first minutes of the match and was the x-factor. The junior opposite totaled four kills and served through a pivotal run that helped his team secure the final set, 28-26.
 
The offense was spread around for SUNY New Paltz, as eight different hitters registered a kill with opposite Matt Teplansky and outsides Geoff Ndoria and Nikko Tenedorio all finishing in double-figure kills, each having around or above a .300 hitting percentage.
 
Tenedorio helped his team to set point in the first, registering a kill out of system with libero Max DeBonis credited on the assist on the set. Teplansky then sealed the 1-0 lead as he hit through the block on the right side off a set from Matt Marusza to claim a 25-17 victory over the Hawks.
 
 
Marusza showed his versatility in the second set, helping the offense with a couple big swings. The first came off a set from Tenedorio with the junior setter getting up for the kill to push the lead to 18-12. Ndoria then went back to the hot hand of Marusza, setting him for another spike to bring the SUNY New Paltz lead to 21-14.
 
Ndoria picked on the back row of the Statesmen to allow his team to side out two points later. He then picked up the ball and went to the serving line leading to a Jain kill on a one-ball from Marusza. Hobart hit long on the next serve by Ndoria to finalize the second set, 25-15 and give the Hawks a 2-0 lead in the match.  
The Statesmen held set point at 24-21 in the third following a block. Peter Brutschin subbed in and contributed with a huge swing in the middle that bounced off the head of a Statesmen blocker to keep the stanza alive. Ndoria aced on the next point, but Hobart earned the third as Ndoria served long following a timeout that finalized the period, 25-23 for the visitors.
 
The fourth was a wave of emotions, as the Hawks seemed adamant to put Hobart away and not work another five-set match against the Statesmen. Petrus called a timeout early after SUNY New Paltz looked lackluster, watching the ball land for an ace.
 
The hosts slowly garnered momentum toward a rally after Hobart took its largest lead at 18-13. Spiegel helped turn momentum, first siding out for his team on a big swing from the right side before serving Hobart into a block by Mike Handell and Tenedorio. Spiegel then served two more points to get the Hawks all the way back, tying the match at 19-19.
 
After the score was tied at 21 and 22-all thanks to a block by Handell and Ndoria, and kill from Spiegel, respectively, the Statesmen were the first to set point after a kill from Zack Farren. They wasted the opportunity, however, serving into the net to tie the match at 24. The two teams traded points before SUNY New Paltz held match point at 26-25 on a Spiegel kill.

Hobart kept the set alive with a kill, but again served into the net, pushing the Hawks a point away from a UVC Championship appearance. Tenedorio served what turned into the game-winning point as a miss-hit from the Statesmen finalized the fourth, 28-26 and brought SUNY New Paltz one win closer to a conference title.

Teplansky led all players with 15.5 points on 13 kills, two aces, a block and seven digs. Ndoria followed with 15 points on 12 kills, two assists, three blocks and three digs. Tenedorio had 14.5 points on 11 kills, three aces, a block and seven digs. Handell was a part of five blocks and had three kills, while Marusza facilitated the offense with a game-high 40 assists and game-high eight digs to go along with two kills and an ace.
 
SUNY New Paltz looks to solidify its fourth UVC title and first since 2019 in the last year of inception for the United Volleyball Conference. The Hawks will play the winner of No. 2 MIT and No. 3 NYU Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Hawk Center.
 
 
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