Hawks fall to #5 Vassar in four sets, in near upset

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY- The SUNY New Paltz men’s volleyball team traveled to cross town rival Vassar College ranked fifth in the nation according to the Athletic Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) and fell to the Brewers in four sets, 30-18, 29-31, 30-24 and 38-36.

In the first set, the teams battled to a 11-9 advantage for Vassar before the Brewers rattled off three straight points to take a 14-9 and continued to pull away from the Hawks with five straight points to take a 23-13 lead.  Vassar won the first set 30-18.

In set two, the teams were not able to pull away from each other.  With the game tied 21-21 the Hawks scored four of the next five points to take a 25-22 lead and the Brewers called a timeout and responded with four of the next five points to tie the game at 26-26.  The teams traded point for point until the Hawks tallied the last two points of the game to take the set 31-29.

In set three, the Hawks took a 10-5 advantage before Vassar tallied eight of the next eleven points to tie the set at 13-13.  Vassar held a 23-20 lead and scored seven of the next eleven points to win the set 30-24 and a 2-1 set lead.

In the fourth set, the Hawks and Brewers battled back and forth with no team holding more than a three point advantage the entire set.  The Hawks trailed 29-27 and were able to score straight points to tie the game at 29-29 and the teams battled point for point.  The Hawks were leading 33-32 with a chance to win the set and send it to a fifth and deciding set, but a disputed call gave the point to the Brewers.  The teams battled point for point until 36-36 when Vassar tallied the last two points to win the set 38-36.

The Hawks were led by senior middle hitter Jake Moore (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Hendrick Hudson) with 23 kills, ten digs and two assisted blocks.  Freshman middle hitter Kevin Stross (Port Washington, NY/Schreiber) added 15 kills, three assisted blocks and had a hitting percentage of .419 for the game.  Junior middle Daniel Liberto (Rush, NY/Rush-Henrietta) had ten kills and ten digs.  Sophomore setter Andrew Cassius (Brooklyn, NY/Midwood) dished out 47 assists, 21 digs and had two assisted blocks.

The Brewers were led by Phil Tully with 21 kills and 12 digs and Greg Maier added 19 kills and seven digs.  John Kessenich dished out 64 assists and had 13 digs.  The Brewers improve to 1-2 overall and 1-0 in the NECVA.

The Hawks fall to 2-3 on the season and 0-1 in the NECVA.  The Hawks return to the court Friday against Poly-tech at 7 p.m. in the Hawk Center.