NP Hawks Pick Up Pair of UVC Victories

By Mike Rosen

NEW PALTZ – The No. 3 State University of New York at New Paltz men’s volleyball team earned two wins against a pair of United Volleyball Conference (UVC) opponents on Saturday afternoon in the Hawk Center, defeating both Elmira and Bard in straight sets.
The Hawks (19-4, 3-1 UVC) next host No. 11 Hunter College on Wednesday, March 15 at 7 p.m.

The Raptors (4-16, 0-5 UVC) will play a non-conference tilt on the road against Brooklyn College on Tuesday, March 14, while the Soaring Eagles (8-17, 1-4 UVC) next face D’Youville College on Thursday, March 16.

New Paltz 3, Elmira 0 (25-10, 25-22, 25-16)

Senior middle blocker Jake Roessler led the attack with nine kills while recording three blocks and two digs. Senior middle blocker Steven Woessner also had a strong performance, registering eight kills, six service aces and three blocks.

Freshman setter Matthew Grace dished out a match-high 24 assists and tallied five digs. Freshman libero Robert Nolan defended a team-high six digs. Sophomore outside hitter Bradley Schneider chipped in with six kills, two service aces, two blocks and four digs.

An early 6-0 run by New Paltz gave them a 10-3 advantage in the first set. Elmira fought back to make it 12-7, but the Hawks would finish on a 13-3 run to claim the first set.

Elmira held an early 9-6 advantage in the second set and the Soaring Eagles would extend their lead to 16-9. The Hawks would then go a 9-2 run to tie the set at 18-all. New Paltz finished the set on a 7-4 run to go up 2-0 in the match.

The third set remained close early on as the score stood at 13-all. But kills by sophomore opposite Nick Smith and junior outside hitters Ryan Cole and Ben Cohen along with service aces from Grace, Schneider, Smith and freshman middle blocker Nick O’Malley capped off a 12-3 run for the Hawks to complete the sweep.

New Paltz 3, Bard 0 (25-11, 25-16, 25-22)

Against the Raptors, 17 players had at least one kill lead by Smith who finished with a match-high eight kills (.438). The sophomore also tallied 10 assists, two aces and two digs.
Junior Yorman Escobar enjoyed five kills on five swings while junior Nick Denoncourt provided four kills. Grace distributed a match-high 20 assists and nine digs.

The Hawks jumped out to an 18-8 lead en route to a 25-11 victory in set one. In the second stanza, New Paltz claimed a commanding 20-13 lead and held off the Raptors 25-16. New Paltz closed out the match with a 25-22 lead in the third set.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email