The SUNY New Paltz volleyball team hosted Eastern Connecticut on senior night and claimed a 3-1 decision. The Hawks won games one and two before falling in the third and dominating in the fourth (25-8, 25-17, 22-25, 25-13).
Junior Brittany Coyle led the attack with 15 kills and seven aces. Senior Samantha Prudente and junior Alison Kiernan each finished with eight kills while Prudente added 13 digs and four aces. Senior Nicole Mercadante registered 16 kills, Lauren Hogue tallied 13 digs and junior Stephanie Bova handed out 36 assists. The team totaled 46 kills and hit .254 percent on the night with 14 aces, 59 digs and 10 blocks.
In game one the Hawks cruised to an easy 25-8 win utilizing seven Warrior errors to go with their 13 kills, three aces and two blocks. Game two saw five ties with the last one coming at 12-12 before New Paltz outscored Eastern 13-5, including using six kills and two aces. Game three was a hard fought battle with nine ties. New Paltz led 7-5 before Eastern used a 5-0 run to take the lead before the Hawks used a 4-0 run of their own for the 11-10 advantage. The two teams exchanged points for a while and the last tie came at 20-20 before Eastern put together four kills and one error against the Hawks’ one block and one error for the 25-22 final. New Paltz took control early in game four and cruised. The Hawks led 6-3 before stringing together a 7-0 run led by Coyle who served five consecutive service aces.
New Paltz advances to 22-6 on the season and returns to action this weekend at the Skidmore Tournament. The Hawks play Clarkson on Friday at 6pm and Skidmore at 8pm.
