On August 30th the New Paltz Hawks girls Volleyball team won the Red Dragon Classic by defeating SUNY Cortland. The Hawks have previously competed in the tournament, which is held annually at Cortland, 21 times and the victory marked their first time ever finishing number 1. First year assistant coach and Cortland volleyball alumni Alice Kahrs said, “Having just graduated from Cortland it was a huge win because they beat all my former teammates. The team executed very well and I am proud of them and excited for the rest of the season.”
Melinda DiGiovanna a freshman from West Hempstead, NY, was selected All-Tournament representative for the Hawks. She said, “It was a really great feeling to win the tournament and being named all-tournament representative was very unexpected and I really appreciated it.” The Hawks got to face off against some very talented teams during the course of the tournament, which made the victory, feel like that much more of an accomplishment. Senior libero Nicole Mercadante recognized, “That winning the tournament was a great start, but we can’t make it the highlight of their season and we need to continue to get better each match.” Mercadante went on to explain that the main difference between this year’s team and those of the past is mental strength. She said, “In the championship game we were down 24-19 and we were able to come back and win. A lot of times when we are down we are able to stay in the match and rally back.” The Hawk’s team goal for the 2008 season is to make it to the NCAA tournament by winning SUNYACS and receiving an automatic bid. They are currently undefeated and if they continue to play on the same level they are now, it seems as if no one will be able to stop them. The Hawks next home game will be played on Wednesday September 24th against the Brewers of Vassar College at 7pm.
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