BEVERLY, MA — Senior opposite Ryan Bullard (Smithtown, NY), and juniors, middle blocker Josh Spiro (Island Park, NY) and outside hitter Jeff Lee (Clifton Park, NY) each recorded double digits in kills to power the Hawks past Bard College in the opening round of the 2006 North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) Championship Tournament. SUNY New Paltz defeated the Raptors by a final of 3-1 (32-30, 23-30, 30-13, 30-24), for the third time this season, to advance to the second round.
SUNY New Paltz (22-10) split the first two games of the match. The Hawks edged out Bard 32-30 in game one, but fell to the Raptors 30-23 in game two. Determined to extend their season another round, SUNY New Paltz turned it on to win game three 30-13 and game four 30-24.
Bullard totaled 15 kills and five aces while hitting .407 to lead the Hawks. Spiro provided 12 kills on 21 attempts to post a .476 hitting percentage, as Lee registered 14 kills and ten digs. Freshman setter Matt Weingarten (East Moriches, NY) guided the Hawks’ attack with 41 assists. Sophomore libero Pedro Medina (Brentwood, NY) collected 11 digs, defensively.
With the win the Hawks will move on to the second round of the NECVA Championship Tournament, where they will take on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The 13th seeded MIT defeated, fourth seeded, Medaille in a 3-1 first round upset.
