The State University of New York at New Paltz is taking a look back at some of the best games of the past two decades, and next up is the 2009 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) women's volleyball game where the Hawks hoisted their first SUNYAC title after defeating SUNY Cortland on its home court.
 
After a dominating regular season where SUNY New Paltz set what was at the time a record 33 wins, it worked its way to the No. 1 seed in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC). The Hawks defeated The College at Brockport in the semifinal round in straight sets before earning a spot in the championship game in the Hawk Center against the rival Red Dragons.
 
Cortland avenged its postseason loss from 2008 against Fredonia State, which knocked them out of the conference tournament a year prior. The Red Dragons defeated the Blue Devils in straight sets to place them in the title game against hosting SUNY New Paltz. Cortland went into the matchup at 25-11 overall, and split its regular season series with the Hawks with the Red Dragons earning a 3-1 victory earlier in the season before SUNY New Paltz then claiming a five-set victory just two weeks prior to their third matchup of the season. 
 
The top-seeded Hawks seemingly cruised through each set against the No. 2 seeded Red Dragons. Cortland owned an 8-6 advantage early, but SUNY New Paltz locked in and won the first stanza, 25-16. Again the second started tight, tied at five-all, but the Hawks allowed just six more points to quickly earn a 25-11 victory.
 
With SUNY New Paltz just a set away from its first conference title, the Red Dragons fought to get within one midway through the third to take a 13-12 advantage, however, once again the Hawks finished strong and claimed the third, 25-18 to clinch the SUNYAC Championship on their home floor.
 
Brittany Coyle was named SUNYAC Tournament MVP after finishing the match with nine kills, one block and 10 points with a .389 hitting percentage. Stephanie Bova and Alison Kiernan were named to the All-Tournament team with Bova having a stand-out game, finishing with 34 assists and 14 digs Kiernan matched Coyle's team-high nine kills, while hitting a game-best .421, while also totaling a team-high 11 points.
 
SUNY New Paltz had a great defensive performance, holding Cortland to a .007 hitting percentage in the match, including -.071 and -.057 in the final two sets.
 
Watch the full match by clicking below or the main story image above. To read the original post-game story with the box score from the match, click here.



To stay up to date with everything #NPHawks be sure to follow us on Twitter at @nphawks,Instagram and Facebook at @newpaltzhawks, and subscribe to our Youtube channel, New Paltz Hawks