NEW PALTZ, N.Y. -- No. 2 New Paltz State fell 3-1 (25-22, 20-25, 29-27, 25-23) to No. 4 Springfield in its 2014 home opener Thursday night in a non-conference match-up between two top-five teams that saw numerous swings of momentum. It served as a make-up from a weather-postponed contest that was originally slated for Wednesday night.
The third set wound up being the difference, as Springfield held off a New Paltz comeback to go up 2-1 heading into the fourth stanza. The Hawks scored four consecutive points in the third to tie the score at 22-all, and the two teams traded points until New Paltz scored two consecutive to go up 26-25. Springfield benefited from a Hawk service error and received a block assist from sophomore outside hitter Luis Vega and senior middle blocker Jimmy O'Leary to go up 27-26, but New Paltz knotted the tally at 27-all with a kill by sophomore outside hitter Tim Ferriter. Vega floored a termination to put the Pride up by one, and O'Leary shut the door on the set with a service ace.
New Paltz was unable to find a rhythm early in the fourth, but the Hawks once again made a valiant comeback, reversing a 19-14 score into one that ended up being 19-all. Despite tying the score once more, the Hawks were unable to force a deciding fifth set, and they wound up dropping the fourth stanza 25-23.
