NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Roger Williams University Women's Volleyball team could not manage to earn its first NCAA win in school history, as the Hawks fell 3-0 to SUNY New Paltz Thursday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Championship New York Region.

SUNY New Paltz won the match primarily on the strength of their defense, finishing the match with 59 digs and seven blocks. As a result, New Paltz was able to sustain rallies, allowing them to set up their offense and attack. Conversely for Roger Williams, the team had trouble on the offensive side of the ball, committing 26 hitting errors in the match.

In the first set, both teamed battled score-for-score over the first nine points before a 5-0 run by New Paltz broke a 4-4 tie and put Roger Williams in a five-point deficit. A New Paltz service error followed by a service ace by Brittney Sullivan (Nashua, N.H.) brought the Hawks within three, but a Hawk service error on the next possession ended the short run. From that point, Roger Williams would be unable to bring the match within three over the course of the game, with RWU taking a timeout at 16-11. On the ensuing possession, Kristina Dolan (Glenmont, N.Y.) took a hard swing that missed just outside to the right. Later, a block by Dolan makes it 18-12, sparking a 3-0 run before it was halted by New Paltz. A mistimed jump on a set by the Hawks ended the first game 25-19.

In game two, Roger Williams scored the first two points on a New Paltz serve error and block by Sullivan and Rebekah Dion (Old Saybrook, Conn.). New Paltz would answer with a pair of points of its own, followed by points on both sides culminating into a 5-3 lead by Roger Williams. The New Paltz offense would then take charge, with a 7-2 run to go up 11-7. A stalled Hawk offense, coupled with the strong defense of New Paltz kept the Hawks at bay throughout the remainder of the match. Down 24-16, a short run by the Hawks looked promising, highlighted by a pair of kills by Dion and a service ace by Kelsee Loche (Millis, Mass.). Yet the run and the game ended 25-19 on a missed block by the Hawks that rolled on the net and fell on the RWU side.

The third game saw the Hawks fall into an early 0-5 hole before Sullivan put the Hawks on the board with a kill. A New Paltz attack error earned the Hawks another point, but a 6-1 run followed by a 9-1 run by New Paltz put the game out of reach for Roger Williams. The Hawks managed a 7-4 run before an illegal serve by RWU ended the match 25-11.

Dion led the Hawks with ten kills on the day, in addition to three blocks. Emily Lebowitz (Coventry, Conn.) tallied 19 assists in the match, while Jill Hurd (Sunapee, N.H.) finished with 22 digs. For SUNY New Paltz, Brittany Coyle had a game-high 11 kills, with teammate Stephanie Bova handing out 27 assists and Loren Crabbe digging out 17 balls.

Roger Williams concludes the season with a record of 22-11. SUNY New Paltz advances to the Second Round tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. where they will play Salisbury, who defeated CCNY 3-0 to advance.