Volleyball Finishes Round One of SUNYAC Pool Play Undefeated at 5-0. Coach Giufre Collects is 100th Win

PLATTSBURGH, NY — The SUNY New Paltz women’s volleyball team took part in the first round of SUNYAC Pool Play this weekend hosted by Plattsburgh. The Hawks faced each team in the East Division once over the weekend and finished undefeated at 5-0. The second divisional round robin will be held Oct. 20-21 at New Paltz. The top three teams from both the East and West divisions will play in the SUNYAC tournament Nov. 3-4 at the West champion.

On Friday, Sept. 22nd the Hawks started with a 3-1 win over Cortland by scores of 30-15, 31-29, 22-30, 30-24. Senior Kim Clouston (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker) led the Hawks with 15 kills and 15 digs. First year Brittany Coyle (Middletown, NY/Minisink Valley) chipped in with nine kills on 24 attempts while Franchesca Rodriguez (Guilderland) finished with eight kills and Stephanie Bova (Central Square, NY/Paul V. Moore) dished out 41 assists.

New Paltz claimed a 3-0 sweep of Potsdam, 30-23, 30-28, 30-28, in their second match of the tournament. Amanda Brown (South Glens Falls) had 10 kills to lead the Hawks. Clouston added nine kills, 12 digs while Samantha Prudente (Huntington Station, NY/Walt Whitman) totaled 23 digs.

On Saturday, Sept. 23rd, New Paltz cruised to a 3-0 showing against SUNYIT, 30-4, 30-7, 30-12. Amanda Kopp (Massapequa) led the Hawks with eight kills on 11 attempts. Kim Braga (Long Beach) added six kills while Jenn Hembury (Montgomery, NY/Valley Central) finished with four kills on four attempts and handed out 26 assists.

The Hawks advanced to 4-0 in the tournament with a 32-30, 30-23, 30-23 win over Oneonta. With the win, Head Coach Matt Giufre collected his 100th win at New Paltz. Rodriguez led the way with 16 kills, 10 digs and Clouston chipped in with 13 kills on 29 attempts. Brown added eight kills, 10 digs and Bova totaled 40 assists.

New Paltz’s final match of the tournament was against host Plattsburgh and the Hawks won 30-20, 30-20, 30-16. Clouston, Coyle and Rodriguez chipped in with 13, 12, and 11 kills, respectively. Rodriguez added 12 digs and Bova dished out 38 assists in the Hawks final match of the weekend.

The Hawks advance to 14-3 overall. New Paltz will be back in action when they host Vassar College at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, September 27th.