Could the men’s volleyball team be having a better month? Based on the looks of their February games, they could not. The Hawks are soaring on the volleyball court. This past Thursday, Feb. 10, they added their fifth win in a row. After taking down Arcadia, Rampo College, SUNY Poly and Bard College (who they defeated less than 24 hours before the next game,) the men’s volleyball team took on St. Joseph’s College Long Island at our home court, the Hawk Center.
The Hawks have played the Golden Eagles five times in the past with the first match being in 2017, and have not lost a single game. Their fifth win in a row this month was also their fifth win in a row against the Golden Eagles.
The first set did not start off in the Hawks favor. Early on, the Golden Eagles secured a 7-4 lead over New Paltz, mainly off of attack errors from our team. A kill by first-year opposite Evan Kane broke their streak, and New Paltz brought up the score from there. Unfortunately for the Hawks, a second series of attack errors lead to the Golden Eagles broadening their lead. The first set was a lost cause, with the ending score being 25-19, visitors favor.
The second set was a complete turnaround. New Paltz started with two service aces in a row, both assisted by fourth-year outside hitter Brendan Spulnick. Fourth-year outside hitter Chris Shanley and Kane both starred offensively in this set. St. Joseph’s tried in vain to close the gap, but came no closer than within two points. The set ended with a whopping 25-16 score, this time in New Paltz’s favor.
If St. Joseph’s had any hope of taking another set with the third set, their hopes were crushed immediately when the Hawks began by getting a five point lead right off the bat. The Hawks finished off by two kills in a row from Kane and with an easy 25-18 score.
Shanley, Kane and Spulnick were leading scorers in this set, as well as being the top three scorers for the entire match. Shanley and Kane both bagged 12 kills each, while Spulnick took nine kills and eight aces. Third-year middle blocker Pat Wing scored two kills in this set, and eight overall as the fourth highest scorer.
The fourth and final set was essentially a cake walk. Kane got three kills in a row, with errors from the other team in between. Fourth-year outside hitter Tim Drake, who had scored previously in the game made two kills in this set as well with the ease and skill of a fourth-year player. These two kills in a row were the winning points of the game, ending the final set with a 25-17 score.
After their on fire performance all game and all month, the Hawks’ win came as no surprise. Next week they face an interesting opponent: Massachusetts Institute of Technology is coming all the way to New Paltz for their first match against the Hawks since the pandemic began. Come to the Hawk Center on Feb. 19 at 1:00 p.m. to watch the Hawks take the MIT Beavers and hopefully add a sixth match to their winning streak!
