The men’s volleyball team will have their hands full this weekend, when they go on the road to the International Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Hawks will face Division I Harvard University on Friday, Feb. 9 and then host No. 1 Springfield College the following day.
The matchup on Saturday, Feb. 10 will be a rematch of the last two NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship. The Hawks defeated the Pride 3-1 (25-18, 25-23, 23-25, 26-24) in 2016 and Springfield came out on top 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-21) the following year.
New Paltz currently holds a record of 3-2, while Harvard holds a 1-3 mark and Springfield is 9-1.
The Hawks lost 3-0 (28-26, 25-21, 25-14) when they visited Springfield last season. The two teams have defeated each other three times in their last six meetings.
New Paltz will face Harvard for the first time since the 2002 season, when the Crimson won 3-1.
Hawks third-year setter and opposite Nick Smith currently leads the team with 3.12 kills per set, while second-year outside hitter Aaron Carrk is just behind him with 2.40. Smith also leads the team in service aces per set with 0.35
Second-year setter Matthew Grace is ranked first on the Hawks with 5.94 assists per set and fourth-year setter Mitchell Kennedy is second with 5.69.
Defensively, second-year libero Robert Nolan leads the team with 1.82 digs per set and fourth-year outside hitter Ben Cohen is second on the Hawks with 1.50.