No. 3 Men’s Volleyball Downs No. 15 Juniata

By Michael Rosen

NEW PALTZ – The State University of New York at New Paltz men’s volleyball team defeated No. 15 Juniata College 3-0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-17) on Friday night in the Hawk Center.
The Hawks improve their record to 17-4 and will next host a UVC Crossover on Saturday, March 11 when they take on Elmira College and Bard College. The Eagles drop to 10-6 and will play a tri-match at Vassar College tomorrow.

Senior middle blocker Jake Roessler led the way with 13 kills and two blocks, while junior outside hitter Anthony Bonilla recorded 10 kills, two service aces and four digs.

Freshman setter Matthew Grace dished out a match-high 31 assists and freshman libero Robert Nolan registered a team-high eight digs.

Senior middle blocker Steven Woessner tallied a season-high five service aces with three kills and four blocks, while freshman middle blocker Nick O’Malley chipped in with six kills and two blocks.

The first set remained close throughout as the score stood at 21-all. Kills by Roessler and Bonilla led the Hawks on a 4-2 run to win the set and go up 1-0.

Similar to the first set, the second set remained close as well as the score stood at 15-all. A 6-1 run by Juniata put them ahead 21-16, but New Paltz would come back to make it 22-21 in favor of the Eagles. Juniata looked poised to take the set after two kills by junior middle blocker Mahlon Bender, but the Hawks finished the set on a 4-0 run to win 26-24 and go up 2-0.

New Paltz never trailed in the third set, jumping out to a 12-7 lead that would eventually become 16-10. The Eagles battled but the Hawks finished on a 9-7 run to win the set and the match.