3/18/2006 - (Riverdale, NY) – On paper, Mount Saint Vincent played one of its best defensive men’s volleyball matches of the 2006 season, an effort worthy of victory. They outblocked SUNY New Paltz 13.5-6.5, and had a commanding advantage in digs on Saturday, but a tough match on the offensive end led to their third consecutive loss, 3-0 to the Hawks during a match played at New Paltz. With the loss, Mount Saint Vincent falls to 6-16 overall and 3-8 in NECVA Metro play. Mount Saint Vincent also dropped the season series to New Paltz.

For only the fifth time this season, the Dolphins had a negative attack percentage as they combined for 16 kills and 18 errors for a -.024 attack percentage. The disparity ultimately did the Mount in as they were swept 18-30, 20-30, and 19-30 as New Paltz (20-9, 11-3 NECVA Metro) hit a combined .254.

The loss overshadowed a tremendous effort by senior Russell Butts (Long Beach, NY/Long Beach HS) who had nine total blocks to go with four service aces and three kills. No Dolphin had more than four kills, but three registered double-digits in digs as Arnold Ross (Wilton, ME/Mount Blue HS) had 10 digs, while TJ Pufahl (Bethpage, NY/Bethpage HS) and Dan Williams (Brick Township, NJ/St. Mary’s) had 11 apiece. Mount Saint Vincent also had seven service aces, compared to two for New Paltz.

Mount Saint Vincent enters the final week of the 2006 season with three matches as the Dolphins host Yeshiva on Tuesday night and New Jersey City University on Thursday night, before traveling to Bard on Saturday for their 2006 finale. Thursday night’s match will be senior night for Butts as he will be honored prior to the match for his contributions to Mount Saint Vincent volleyball.