New Paltz volleyball to play Franklin and Marshall College in first round of NCAA tournament

New Paltz Sports Information Department

he State University of New York at New Paltz women's volleyball team did not return home from the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) tournament at Geneseo empty handed this past weekend. Taking the conference by storm, the Hawks defeated Oswego State in the semifinals Friday before moving on to conquer the hosting Knights Saturday to earn the program's third SUNYAC championship title. 

The Hawks went into the SUNYAC tournament looking for vengeance from last year's championship game loss against The College at Brockport. Starting the weekend with a 3-1 (15-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-10) victory against the Lakers, the Hawks advanced to play SUNY Geneseo the following day. Losing to the Knights 3-0 during regular season play, the team knew they had to come out aggressive in order to take home the title.

Madison Van Pelt led SUNY New Paltz with 14 kills and two blocks, followed by Meredith Dignan, who also earned Tournament MVP honors, with 30 assists and 20 digs. Taylor Cimillo also paced the Hawks with 14 digs and eight kills to help hand the Knights a 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-23) defeat.

The win cemented a spot in the NCAA DIII Tournament for SUNY New Paltz, as it starts round one against Franklin and Marshall College Friday on the campus of Johnson and Wales University in Providence, RI at 5:30 p.m. The Diplomats earned their sixth conference championship for the Centennial Conference this past weekend.

For everything #NPHawks including photos, video, recaps and highlights, be sure to follow @nphawks on Twitter and @newpaltzhawks on Facebook and Instagram.