1/28/2006 - (Riverdale, NY) – Sophomore Arnold Ross (Wilton, ME/Mt. Blue HS) and freshman T.J. Pufahl (Bethpage, NY/Bethpage HS) registered six kills apiece, and junior Matthew Reinhardt (Staten Island, NY/McKee-Staten Island Tech) notched 18 of the Dolphins’ 19 assists, but the Mount Saint Vincent Men’s Volleyball team were swept 3-0 by #11 SUNY New Paltz during their 2006 home opener on Saturday night. With the loss, Mount Saint Vincent drops to 1-2 overall and 1-1 in the NECVA Metro Conference.

Coming off of a 3-0 win over Polytechnic on Wednesday, hopes were high as the Mount returned home for the first time in 2006, but the hard-hitting Hawks were simply too much for the young Dolphin team. New Paltz (3-1, 1-1 NECVA Metro) opened the match with a 30-15 win in the first game, and then cruised through the next two games, 30-21 and 30-25 after an incredible hitting night in which New Paltz registered a .358 attack percentage. The Hawks committed only seven total attacking errors, while Mount Saint Vincent committed 19 errors and registered a .052 attack percentage. New Paltz also had a decisive 12.5 to 7.5 advantage in blocks, and an 11-4 edge in service aces for a commanding win.

The positive for Mount Saint Vincent was that the Dolphins showed dramatic improvement during each game as Pufahl and Ross turned their play up a notch as the match commenced. The duo combined for nine of their 12 kills during the second and third games, which each registering an ace during that stretch. Mount Saint Vincent also received a tremendous effort in the middle from senior Russell Butts (Long Beach, NY/Long Beach HS), who had three total blocks.

Mount Saint Vincent will look to get back in the win column on Monday, Jan. 30 when they host Medgar Evers at 7:00 p.m.