Hawks Keep Rolling With Win over Williams on Senior Night

NEW PALTZ, NY- A timeout in the fourth set down 18-20 gathers composure for Hawks on their way to a 3-1 victory over Williams by the scores of 25-21, 19-25, 25-19, 25-23.  Head coach Matt Giufre stated “Coming off a break of a week, we had to focus on hard work during practices.  Everyone worked hard in practice which gave us a good chance to win.”  It is the first victory over Williams College in the program’s history.  The Hawks have won eight straight games and 16 of 17.

The Hawks honored five seniors, Brittany Coyle, Kelcey Noble, Priska Wilson, Alison Kiernan and Stephanie Bova for the dedication and commitment to the volleyball program over the last four years.  The night also featured “Dig Pink” a breast cancer awareness event.  Both teams wore pink shirts and shoelaces in support of breast cancer research.

Kate Anderson led the attack for the Ephs with 16 kills and Eleanor Levine and Nicole Ballon-Landa each added 10 kills a piece.  Emily Avis tallied a double-double with 46 assists and 17 digs, while Chelsea Kubal led the defense with 18 digs and added nine kills.

In the third set, Coach Giufre made two key substitutions, Kelly Lavender and Tara Annunziata.  “Williams started attacking aggressively in the third set so we had to counter with our own attack.  I brought in Lavender and Annunziata to help lead that attack” stated Giufre.  The Hawks did just that by defeating the Ephs in the set 25-19.

Brittany Coyle (Middletown/Minisink Valley) had a game-high 17 kills to lead the attack and Alison Kiernan (New Hyde Park/Herricks) chipped in with 12 kills.  Kelly Lavender (Apalachin/Owego Free Academy) had a double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs.  Stephanie Bova (Central Square/Paul V. Moore) handed out a game-high 49 assists and Loren Crabbe (Ballston Lake/Burnt Hills) led the defense with 24 digs.

In the fourth set, the Hawks trailed 18-20, Coach Giufre called a timeout and told the team “To focus on three good contacts.  Williams is too good of a team to always expect the first attack to go down.”  In turn, the Hawks ended up winning the fourth set 25-23 to secure the win.

Williams falls to 12-6 overall and 4-1 in the NESCAC.

New Paltz improves to 18-5 overall and 3-1 in the SUNYAC.  The Hawks return to the court this weekend in the Wellesley Tournament.