NEW PALTZ, NY- The SUNY New Paltz men’s volleyball team hosted Baruch Thursday night in the Hawks Center. It was senior night for the Hawks, as Ryan Huberty (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) and Mark Blair (Point Pleasant, NJ/Point Pleasant Boro) played their last home game for New Paltz. The Hawks fell to Baruch 3-1 (24-30, 30-27, 26-30, 24-30).
In set one, neither team was able to pull away early as Baruch would take a three point lead, but the Hawks would tie the game at 9-9. The teams continued to trade points before Baruch rattled off five straight points to take a 21-16 lead and would hold on for the victory.
In set two, Baruch would take a slight advantage at 12-9 before the Hawks scored ten of the fourteen points to take a 19-16 lead. The Bearcats would battle back to tie the set at 21-21, but the Hawks scored four straight points and would hold on for the set victory.
In set three, Baruch held a 13-11 lead and rolled off 11 of the next 14 points and took a commanding lead of 24-14. The Hawks quickly got back into the game scoring nine of the next twelve to pull within three at 27-24. The Bearcats would hold off the Hawks late rally and take a 2-1 set lead.
In set four, the Hawks fell behind early but were able to tie the set at 10-10. Baruch would score four of the next five points and would continue to roll from there. Baruch would continue build their lead and the Hawks cut the lead to three at 25-22, but Baruch would finish the game scoring five of the next seven points for the victory.
Baruch was led by Daniel Levent with a game-high 21 kills and five digs. Eryk Kowalski added 14 kills and three digs. Pablo Oliveira chipped in with nine kills, a game-high six aces and nine digs. Baruch improves to 27-9 overall.
The Hawks were led by senior Ryan Huberty with 17 kills and a .452 hitting percentage. Senior Mark Blair added five kills, three aces and eight digs. Jake Moore (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Hendrick Hudson), Kevin Stross (Port Washington, NY/Schreiber) and Daniel Liberto (Rush, NY/Rush-Henrietta) each added 11 kills apiece. The Hawks fall to 14-11 overall and 5-3 NECVA.
The Hawks return to the court this weekend in the York Tournament. The Hawks will play at 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday.
