Elmira, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team played its fourth game in three days Saturday when they traveled to Elmira, NY for a doubleheader with United Volleyball Conference rival Nazareth College. The Hawks didn't show any fatigue, however, as they cleanly picked up two 3-0 straight-set victories over the Golden Flyers (25-19, 25-20, 25-14) and (25-20, 25-23, 25-16), respectively, to clinch their fourth-straight sweep.
 
The pair of victories bring the Hawks' record to 5-3 overall and 5-2 in UVC competition with one game against Vassar left on the regular season schedule. Playing the bulk of the start of the season with key starters out, SUNY New Paltz was back at nearly 100 percent Saturday against Nazareth and the results showed.

"The team was motivated to win today," said Hawks coach Radu Petrus. "It was our last chance to stay in the top of the UVC regular season. The winning team at Vassar on Monday will take the first seed in our conference."

All-American setter Matt Grace totaled 55 assists combined in both victories, while offensively the wealth was spread around among several Hawks. Brendan Spulnick led the Hawks with 17 kills combined on the day, followed by All-American opposite Aaron Carrk and junior outside Chris Shanley who finished with 16 apiece.
 
The Hawks rolled through game one, earning their third-straight 3-0 sweep after collecting a pair of straight-set victories at Elmira Thursday against the Eagles. SUNY New Paltz made quick work in the opening set of the day, which started tight within the first few points but a 7-2 run at 7-6 by the Hawks allowed them to create a cushion that the Golden Flyers struggled to recover from. 

A kill by Carrk pushed SUNY New Paltz ahead, 17-11 to take a six-point advantage, but back-to-back errors on a serve and an attack attempt kept Nazareth within distance. The Golden Flyers fought back to get within three following another Hawks attacking error to make the score 21-18. Petrus called a timeout to regroup his guys and they responded with three straight points to get to set point. Grace then found Carrk on the right side who put an end to what was an ill-fated Golden Flyers rally to take the first set, 25-19.

Similar to the first, Nazareth kept within a few points throughout the second set but SUNY New Paltz remained in control. A service error put the Hawks up by six at 22-16, but the Golden Flyers responded with three-straight points. Carrk ended the rally with a kill on a long point, highlighted by some tough defense on SUNY New Paltz's side to keep the point alive. Nazareth gave up another point on an attacking error to place the Hawks at set point and two serves later, Carrk again emphatically ended the set with a kill to push his team ahead, 2-0.

SUNY New Paltz rolled to a comfortable victory after a dominating third and deciding set. Nazareth totaled eight hitting errors and four service errors to help the Hawks to the win with Grace highlighting the set with seven assists and a kill to cement the 25-14 win.

Nazareth struggled offensively, hitting a putrid .051 in the game and totaled 20 attacking errors and 15 service errors in the game. SUNY New Paltz, meanwhile was efficient throughout the contest as it hit .297. Spulnick paced the Hawks with 10 kills on 19 attempts, hitting .316, while also finishing with a game-high three aces, two blocks and five digs. Carrk followed with eight kills and Grace added two kills, two blocks, four digs to go with a game-high 21 assists.

Nazareth nearly stole the first two sets of game two, with the Hawks giving up hefty leads to make both sets interesting down the stretch.

In the opening stanza of game two, SUNY New Paltz led by as many as eight at 19-11 and looked like it was going to cruise to a 1-0 lead. The Golden Flyers worked their way back, however, and got within four late in the set. The Hawks were at set point at 24-18, but back-to-back errors by the defending champs kept Nazareth alive. O'Malley made sure to end any thought of a comeback, finishing on a kill assisted by Shanley.

SUNY New Paltz was up by seven in the second set, leading 22-15. The Golden Flyers again rallied and was helped with a 4-0 run that consisted of two errors by SUNY New Paltz and a pair of aces from Nazareth's Jason Proud. Proud missed on his next serve to end the run, but the Golden Flyers added two more points to cut the Hawks lead to 23-21 and forcing a timeout. 

"We lost focus on game two, but the team came back together and won three sets," Petrus said. "In the timeout we changed our offensive plan and it worked out well this time."

Spulnick got his team to set point with a kill, but a service error and attacking error once again put Nazareth in position to steal the lead. Spulnick put away any doubt, though, crushing a swing on the next point to put the Hawks in position for another sweep.

The third and deciding set was all SUNY New Paltz. It led by as many as eight with a commanding 23-14 advantage. Carrk registered a block and then added another kill to his total to get his team at match point and Shanley ended the afternoon with his team-leading 13th kill of the match to solidify the 3-0 outcome.

Following Shanley offensively was Carrk with eight kills, while Spulnick and O'Malley each had seven. Wing chipped in with five kills on six attempts to hit a team-best .833. Defensively, Carrk finished with a team-most 13 digs, while Spulnick recorded two blocks and three digs. Grace, meanwhile, had another solid performance finishing with 34 assists.

"Shanley was back on the court today and did well," Petrus said. 

SUNY New Paltz will end the regular season Monday on the road at Vassar College for a single UVC match. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.

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