SPRINGFIELD, MA — The State University of New York New Paltz wasted no time making its mark in its first NCAA Tournament appearance in three years with a commanding 3-0 sweep in the first round over United Volleyball Conference rival NYU at Blake Arena on the campus of Springfield College Friday.
The game was seemingly decided in an extended first set, as the No. 7 Hawks, boasting a roster that has no experience in the national tournament, went up against the No. 9 Violets who made a run into the Final Four a year ago.
"That first set was my first time, and I think all the guys first time being in the NCAA Tournament, so I feel like that first set was just a lot of jitters," said SUNY New Paltz sophomore outside Nikko Tenedorio. "Going into those second and third sets we came out firing and with a lot more energy. We weren't scared to take balls and yeah, we were unstoppable."
The Hawks were an unstoppable force after earning a 28-26 win in the first. They gave up just 33 points combined in the next two sets as NYU had no answer to SUNY New Paltz's offense that hit at a .411 clip in the match, including above .500 through the first two sets and .800 in set two. Six different hitters registered a kill with everyone besides setter Matt Marusza hitting near or above .300.
"I feel like a big thing about our team is to keep our strategy no matter who we're playing, conference opponent or non-conference," said SUNY New Paltz senior captain Daniel Shanley. "This is our first time in the tournament in the last couple years and why not play our game and have these other teams play to our level and adjust to what we're doing. This is our first time and we just said, let's go out there swinging and be aggressive. I feel like that just led to offense going those first two sets and getting into a groove."
NYU called an early timeout in the first with the Hawks taking a three-point lead at 9-6. The break helped the Violets as they then out-scored SUNY New Paltz, 11-5 to take a 17-14 lead midway through, which included four-straight points leading to a timeout for the Hawks as coach Radu Petrus re-organized his team.
SUNY New Paltz battled through and re-took the lead at 22-21 thanks to a block by Mike Handell and Michael Spiegel on the right side. Tenedorio eventually brought the Hawks set point at 24-23 after a nice pass in serve receive to Marusza who went back to Tenedorio in the middle for a kill.
After Tenedorio served long, which tied the stanza at 24-all, Shanley passed a good ball to Marusza off a Violets serve that led to a swing from Michael Spiegel on the right side. The call was tight, looking as though the ball stayed within the sideline, but was called out instead and NYU had the chance to take the 1-0 lead in the match. Instead, Petrus called a timeout and SUNY New Paltz worked back to set point, as Shanley again passed the ball perfectly to Marusza off an ensuing Violets serve, resulting in a quick swing from Handell in the middle for a kill.
Matt Kudlinski subbed in to serve the next point with NYU swinging too hard forcing a hitting error that pushed the Hawks back to set point. Kudlinski then served strong into the tape that fell onto the wrong side, handing serve back toward the other side of the court.
SUNY New Paltz kept powering through, as Tenedorio, Marusza and Krish Jain re-upped set point on a textbook bump, set and spike. Jain then aided in the first set victory, as he stayed big in the middle, getting his hands on a tip on a Violets swing on the ensuing point, forcing the opposition out of system which resulted in an hitting error. The Hawks took the first, 28-26 and rolled the rest of the way.
"We were just trying to stay true to ourselves and our fundamentals and taking every point one at a time and trying to make a good result out of every point and every opportunity that we got," Jain said.
SUNY New Paltz built a 10-point cushion in the second as NYU looked disorganized. Marusza float served down the sideline, tricking the Violets serve receive to earn an ace and bringing the lead to 20-9. The Violets ultimately gave the Hawks set point after serving into the net at 24-14 with a net violation solidifying the second for SUNY New Paltz, 25-15.
Spiegel gave the Hawks an early 8-5 lead in the third, smashing a kill straight down for the emphatic point off a set from Marusza that forced NYU into its first timeout of the period.
Petrus then countered with a timeout as the Violets showed some life to creep back in and getting within one at 10-9. SUNY New Paltz anchored in and continued to play steady hustling to keep rallies alive through each point. On a broken play, Shanley got underneath a ball on a tough swing from the Violets and Tenedorio showed the effort in running over to keep the play alive, avoiding the scorer's table to send a set toward Handell who tipped the ball over for the kill and extending his team's advantage, 12-9.
The Violets kept the set close but never gained momentum to re-take control from the Hawks. Peter Brutschin subbed in for his first minutes of the match for SUNY New Paltz and registered a kill to push his team ahead, 23-18. Tenedorio then followed, ripping a kill from the back row to snatch match point before ending the game on an ace to eliminate the conference rival Violets, while cementing a spot in round two against the hosting and No. 1 seeded Springfield Pride.
"It was a good day for us," Petrus said. "I think the most difficult [set] was the first one. It was a lot of mental, and I think our captain Dan [Shanley] helped us with a few balls over there and it helped make a difference. This is the reason I bring him here."
Tenedorio had a great all-around game, totaling a game-high 14 points on 10 kills, hitting .364 with three aces, two blocks and three digs. Geoff Ndoria and Spiegel followed with nine kills apiece, combining for three blocks and nine digs. Jain swung for a perfect 1.000, totaling six kills on six attempts, while adding an assist. Kudlinski added three aces and a dig, while Handell contributed five kills and six blocks. Shanley was key defensively, totaling a team-high eight digs, while Marusza facilitated the offense and registered a game-high 35 assists.
Next up for SUNY New Paltz is Springfield, which won its opening matchup against Buffalo State earlier in the day, 3-1. The two teams split their two-game series with the Pride winning at home in four sets Feb. 11 before SUNY New Paltz enacted some revenge with a five-set victory in the Hawk Center March 4.
"It's a huge opportunity," Jain said. "We want to make the most out of it. It's going to be a hell of a game and it'll be a lot of fun. We're one game away from getting into the Final Four and making a run into the national championship and that's been our goal since the second we stepped foot on campus at New Paltz. We really want to stay true to that and get that done. We're really excited for tomorrow."
The Hawks are set to face hosting Springfield Saturday in Blake Arena at 6:30 p.m. with the winner advancing onto the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament next weekend.
Post-Game Press Conference Featuring coach Radu Petrus, Daniel Shanley, Krish Jain and Nikko Tenedorio