NEW PALTZ, NY – — The SUNY New Paltz men’s volleyball team dropped a pair of home matches this afternoon to fall to 0-5 on the season.
In the opening match, Lees McRae was efficent at the net, committing just 14 errors and attacking at a .442 clip. The Bobcats used a .531 hitting percentage in game one to hold off New Paltz 35-33. Lees McRae, who had three players register double figures in kills, took the second game 30-22 and won the third 30-27 to claim the match. The Bobcats were led by freshman outside hitter Brandon Williams (Virginia Beach, VA) who had 15 kills. Freshman outside hitter Steven Dierstein (Virginia Beach, VA) also played a strong game, turning in 13 kills and a .417 attack percentage. Freshman middle blocker Kevin Peoples (Virginia Beach, VA) added 11 kills to help Lees McRae improve to 5-1.
Senior outside hitter Chris Ganje (Halfmoon, NY) had 13 kills and a .391 hitting percentage for New Paltz. Junior setter Ian Henderson (Redding, CT) added five kills and 23 assists.
New Paltz closed out the day with a 3-0 loss to LIU-Southampton. After winning the first game 30-21, LIU-Southampton sophomore setter Ionut Ghira (Baia-Mare, Romania) served the first 13 points of the second game to lead the Colonials’ to a 30-11 win. LIU Southampton claimed the match with a 30-18 win in game three. Senior outside hitter Joe Daigler (Buffalo, NY) led the Colonials with 19 kills. Ganje had seven kills for the Hawks.
