ROCHESTER, NY- The SUNY New Paltz men’s volleyball rebounded after a 0-2 start at the Nazareth Tournament going 2-0 on day two of the tournament. The Hawks defeated Stevens 3-2 (27-30, 30-28, 27-30, 31-29, 15-11) and Medaille College 3-0 (30-21, 30-22, 30-26).
The first match the Hawks defeated Stevens (ranked 4th in the nation) for the frist time since 2002 over a span of 12 matches. The Hawks were led by senior outside hitter Ryan Huberty (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) with 21 kills with a .400 hitting percentage and 13 digs and senior middle hitter Jake Moore (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Hendrick Hudson) with 13 kills, 16 digs, four aces and four blocks. Junior outside hitter Daniel Liberto (Rush, NY/Rush-Henrietta) added 15 kills and freshman middle hitter Kevin Stross (Port Washington, NY/Schreiber) added 20 kills with a .425 hitting percentage and four blocks. Sophomore setter Andrew Cassius (Brooklyn, NY/Midwood) handed out 68 assists and had 14 digs.
In the second match the Hawks defeated Medaille College ranked 14th in the nation. The Hawks were led by Moore with ten kills with a .562 hitting percentage, nine digs, three aces and four blocks. Stross tallied ten kills and three blocks and Huberty and Liberto each added nine kills apiece. Cassius handed out 36 assists in the victory for the Hawks.
The Hawks improve to 10-6 overall and 3-0 in the NECVA-Metro Division. The Hawks return to the court Wednesday at Stevens, game time is set for 7 p.m.
