Two seasons ago, the State University of New York at New Paltz men's volleyball team capped off their 28-7 record with their second Division III National Championship in a victory over University of California-Santa Cruz, 3-1. Aspirations and dreams for a second consecutive championship were dashed last season when the Coronavirus pandemic shuttered the team's campaign on March 13 with the Hawks sporting a 16-3 record.

This season, the Hawks adjusted to a condensed 11-game season and finished the year with a 7-4 record. Despite a difficult 1-3 start and four straight postponements, SUNY New Paltz finished the year on a stronger note, winning six straight contests before losing to Vassar College in the UVC Championship in four sets. The Hawks pitched five 3-0 shutouts on the season (four of which were consecutive in back-to-back contests against Elmira College and Nazareth College). Their fifth 3-0 shutout was also against the Golden Flyers in the conference semi-finals. SUNY New Paltz finished the season with a stellar 6-2 conference record and were 3-0 on the road.

In the 25-12, 25-15, 25-13 Hawk victory over Nazareth in the conference semi-finals, 6-foot, 4-inch senior opposite Aaron Carrk led all players with nine kills. Senior setter and three-time All-American Matthew Grace doubled up the Golden Flyers' leading assist man, 26-13. Despite the loss to the Brewers in the UVC Championship, SUNY New Paltz hung tough in sets two, three and four after winning the first set 25-19, only losing by a combined 10 points (26-24 in set two, and 25-21 in both set 3 and 4). The Hawks' six-game win streak from April 1-9 included four consecutive victories where they didn't concede a set, winning each set by an average of seven points, and 18 of 20 sets during that span. 

SUNY New Paltz led its competition in all major stat categories with the exception of blocks over the course of the season, but maintained a 61 to 52 advantage in aces, and registered 145 more kills than opponents (505-360). Junior outside hitter Brendan Spulnick led the Hawks in points (157), kills (124), as well as service aces (22), which led to his first All-UVC selection of his career, with Grace tallying 374 assists on his way to his UVC Player of the Year honor. Senior libero Robert Nolan led the team in digs with 107, and 2020 All-American Nick O'Malley led the team in blocks with 25. Grace and Spulnick finished tied behind O'Malley with 17. 

SUNY New Paltz graduates seven seniors from its 2021 roster, including fifth-year seniors Grace, O'Malley, Carrk and Nolan.



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