NEW PALTZ, NY — Junior outside hitter Ryan Huberty finished with 16 kills and seven digs for a .593 hitting percentage to lead the Hawks to a 3-0 (30-25, 30-24, 30-19) sweep over Bard Wednesday night. It was the first win of the season for New Paltz as they stand at 1-9.
Mark Blair totaled nine kills and seven digs while Alex Jackson added eight kills and three aces. Dan Liberto registered eight kills
Stephen Pendelton handed out 29 helpers. Pedro Medina collected 12 digs and first year Eric Rothbard finished with nine digs.
The Hawks took game one 30-25 after taking an early 7-2 lead. New Paltz was up by at least three for the entire game, with the largest margin coming at 27-20. Huberty finished game one with six kills and Blair added four kills while Pendelton dished out seven assists.
Jackson registered four of his eight kills in the second game as the Hawks went on to win 30-24. The game was tied 11-11 before New Paltz used a 6-0 to earn some breathing room. Bard battled back to within two at 23-21 but would come no closer.
In game three, Huberty tallied eight kills, including the final three points, as the Hawks cruised to a 30-19 victory. With the score 22-14, Medina served an ace followed by two poor serve receives to set up immediate kills for Liberto and Huberty.
New Paltz returns to action this weekend when they travel to Rochester to compete in the Nazareth Tournament. The Hawks will face Nazareth at 2:00 pm on Friday, followed by UC Santa Cruz at 8:00 pm.
