NEW PALTZ, NY — The SUNY New Paltz men’s volleyball team dropped its first match of the 2004 season falling 3-0 to North Eastern Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) rival Mount St. Vincent this afternoon.
In the league opener for both squads, Mount St. Vincent won three close games to improve to 3-0 overall. Junior outside hitter Phillip Gallagher (Peru, ME) led the offensive attack with 24 kills in 36 attempts for a .528 hitting percentage. With the scored tied at 29 in game one, Gallagher served the final two points to give Mount St. Vincent the game.
Behind the play junior outside hitters Chris Ganje (Halfmoon, NY) and Mike LaRocco (Hauppauge, NY) New Paltz built a 22-17 lead in the second game. But Mount St. Vincent, who hit .486 in the second game, outscored the Hawks 13-3 the rest of the way to win the game 30-25.
Game three went back and forth and was tied at 28 until Mount St. Vincent scored two straight points to win the match. Gallagher’s 24th kill of the day clinched the victory for the Dolphins who hit .396 on the day. Senior setter Brian Cafferty (Neptune, NJ) dished out 43 assists for Mount St. Vincent.
LaRocco led the Hawks (2-1, 0-1) with 14 kills and a .333 hitting percentage. Ganje added 10 kills and two digs. Junior middle blocker Liam Doyle (Rhinebeck, NY) also turned in a strong performance for New Paltz and finished with 10 kills.
