SUNY New Paltz Men’s Volleyball Wins Third Straight, Tops Bard

NEW PALTZ, NY — The SUNY New Paltz men’s volleyball team captured their third consecutive win with a 3-1 (30-25, 24-30, 30-21, 30-21) defeat of Bard College. SUNY New Paltz earns its fourth North Eastern Collegiate Association (NECVA) Metro Division win to improve to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in the Metro Division.

The Hawks opened the evening with a 30-25 victory in game one. Tied 8-8, SUNY New Paltz began to slowly pull away forcing a Bard College timeout at 26-22. Unfazed, SUNY New Paltz (7-2, 4-1) stayed on course to take game one.

Bard College (3-2, 3-2) kept pace with the Hawks through the majority of game two, but after gaining a five-point edge, 23-18, they forced a SUNY New Paltz timeout. Hitting .265 as a team in game two, the Raptors won 30-24.

SUNY New Paltz jumped out to a 4-1 advantage in game three behind two aces from senior middle blocker Greg Jackson (Central Square, NY), who hit .600 on the night. The Hawks increased their lead to 13-5 before the Raptors asked for time. The Hawks followed the timeout with two more aces from freshman setter Matt Weingarten (East Moriches, NY) and a 9-5 run to force the second Bard College timeout at 22-10. SUNY New Paltz took game three 30-21.

Game four remained close early, however, the Hawks managed to post a 26-20 lead before continuing on to win the game 30-21.

SUNY New Paltz finished the evening with three players in double-digit kills. Senior opposite Ryan Bullard (Smithtown, NY) led the Hawks with 16 kills, while Jackson and junior middle blocker Josh Spiro (Island Park, NY) collected 13 and 10 kills, respectively. Spiro added four blocks while hitting .500 for the night. Sophomore libero Pedro Medina (Brentwood, NY) totaled 17 digs, as Weingarten tallied 41 assists.

Sophomore outside hitter Colin Safranek (Santa Cruz, CA) led the Raptors with 15 kills. Sophomore outside hitter Zachary Hamaker (Walnut Creek, CA) provided a double-double for Bard College with 10 kills and 13 digs. Junior setter Dylan Cummins (Aptos, CA)totaled 33 assists in the loss.

The SUNY New Paltz men’s volleyball team will travel to Nazareth this weekend, February 10-12, for their up coming competitions.