NEW YORK - The New Paltz State women’s volleyball team fell to the Sea Gulls of Salisbury in a five set thriller. The Hawks end the season with school record 33-6 overall. Three Hawk players finished with double-digit kills and four with double-digit digs. Senior Stephanie Bova had a double-double with a game-high 38 assists and 10 digs. Junior Stephanie Skrobach had a double-double with a team-high 13 kills, 11 digs and three blocks. Seniors Brittany Coyle and Alison Kiernan each added 12 kills a piece. Sophomore Loren Crabbe led the defense with a team-high 27 digs and Priska Wilson added 25.
In the first set, Salisbury jumped out quickly to a 10-5 lead. The Hawks put a little run together to pull within 15-13, but the Sea Gulls pushed their lead to 18-14. The Sea Gulls would hold on for the 25-19 first set victory. Kiernan led the Hawks with three kills and Coyle and DiGiovanna added two a piece. Crabbe led the defense with six digs and Priska Wilson chipped in with five in the set.
In the second set, the Hawks quickly jumped out to a 5-1 lead only to see the Sea Gulls come back to tie the set at 11-11. The Hawks would score the next three points for breathing room and would go on for the 25-17 set win. Kiernan led with four kills and Skrobach chipped in three kills and had a .600 hitting percentage. Skrobach also led the defense with five digs and Crabbe and Bova each added four a piece.
The third set saw the Sea Gulls going up 2-1 with a 25-19 set win. After starting the set 5-5 the Sea Gulls scored the next four points, but the Hawks slowed the momentum down putting a run together to tie the score at 10-10. Salisbury would score the next four but the Hawks would tie the game at 18-18. The Sea Gulls finished the set on a 7-1 run for the win. Skrobach led with five kills in the set and Kiernan and Coyle each had three a piece. Crabbe led the defense with 11 digs and Wilson added seven.
The Hawks tied the match at 2-2 with a 25-17 set win. The Hawks and Sea Gulls battled to a 10-10 before the Hawks rattled off four straight. Salisbury would battle back to within one point at 15-14. The Hawks would finish strong with a 10-3 run to end the set. Coyle led with four kills. Wilson led with six digs and Crabbe and Skrobach each had five a piece.
In the fifth set, Salisbury started quickly with a 4-1 lead, but the Hawks responded with three straight points to tie the set at 4-4. The Sea Gulls would score 10 of the next 14 points for a 14-8 lead. The Hawks would score the next three to pull within at 14-11, but the Sea Gulls would hold off for the 15-11 win. Skrobach led with two kills and Wilson had four digs on defense.
