NEW PALTZ, NY – The State University of New York New Paltz women's volleyball team opened its home New Paltz Challenge Tournament on a high note Friday, earning a straight-set victory over John Jay College inside the Hawk Center.
The Hawks welcomed Alfred University, John Jay and Moravian University to New Paltz for the opening day of the two-day tournament, with SUNY New Paltz taking care of the Bloodhounds in three sets, 25-22, 25-18 and 25-15.
The opening set remained tight early before SUNY New Paltz began to create separation. A Genevieve Boyle ace helped the Hawks build a 12-9 advantage before kills from Lola Konopa, Christine Balbona and Lexi Stragalas extended the lead to 16-11. New Paltz eventually pushed ahead 23-17, but John Jay answered with five straight points to get within one. The Hawks settled in from there, earning set point on a Bloodhounds service error before Genevieve Carson put away the final kill for a 25-22 win.
SUNY New Paltz carried the momentum into the second, jumping ahead 7-4 behind its presence at the net and eventually stretching the advantage to 13-9. John Jay fought back to tie the frame at 13, but the Hawks responded emphatically, rattling off nine straight points to take command at 22-13. Nora Keating, Boyle and Balbona all contributed during the decisive run before Stragalas closed the set with a kill for the 25-18 victory.
The Hawks left little doubt in the third. After an early 2-2 tie, SUNY New Paltz used a 7-1 stretch to grab a 9-3 lead and never relinquished control. The advantage grew to 19-11 before Courtney Meyer took over from the service line late, delivering three aces during the final four points including match point to seal the sweep, 25-15.
SUNY New Paltz finished with 33 kills while hitting .198 as a team and held John Jay to a .047 hitting percentage. The Hawks also controlled the service line and the net, totaling nine aces and eight blocks.
Balbona and Stragalas paced a balanced attack with seven kills apiece, while Boyle followed with six. Keating put down four kills without an error to hit .364, while Carson added four kills on six swings for a team-best .500 hitting percentage.
Balbona made her presence felt defensively as well, totaling seven block assists. Meyer led SUNY New Paltz from the service line with four aces, while Jordyn Lewis anchored the back row with a match-high 20 digs. Kim Braun and Elena Savage split setting duties, finishing with 16 and 12 assists, respectively.
The New Paltz Challenge continues Saturday inside the Hawk Center, with the United States Merchant Marine Academy joining the tournament field in place of John Jay for the second day of competition.
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