ONEONTA, NY – The Hartwick volleyball team swept King's and SUNY Poly in a pair of home matches on Friday evening, beating each squad 3-1 after winning the first two sets. The Hawks are now 7-4, their best start through 11 games since 2007. King's had a record of 8-1 at the end of the day, after dropping SUNY Poly in straight sets in the 6 p.m. match, and the school from Utica fell to 3-8 as a result of dropping the two matches.

Match One vs. King's (3-1; 25-22, 25-22, 19-25, 25-21)

• Hartwick pulled out twin 25-22 wins in the first two sets against the Monarchs.
• The first set went back and forth; the teams alternated points from 5-5 through 9-9, when King's took the next three points on an ace from Karissa Hartzell and kills by Grace Frati and Becca Goldberg. The Hawks would narrow the gap, however, eventually pulling ahead, 16-15. With the score at 17-all, 'Wick registered three straight points, taking the lead for good. They eventually won the set on a Toria Betelak (North Syracuse, NY/Liverpool) kill, from Kayley Ericson (Franklin, CT/Norwich Free Academy).
• The Monarchs raced out to a 6-0 lead in set two, thanks to two Goldberg kills and four Hartwick attack errors. The Hawks kept at it, narrowing the gap to three a few times, then to one at 13-12, and finally taking a 15-14 lead after a Betelak kill. The two teams again went back and forth, with King's eventually finding themselves leading, 22-21. A kill by Kiera Walsh (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) and an ace from Celia Gagnon (Kinderhook, NY/Ichabod Crane) caused a visitor timeout, but the Hawks finished the set right after on a kill from Colette Maloney (Williston Park, NY/Mineola) and another Gagnon ace, taking a commanding 2-0 set lead.
• After a 5-0 Hartwick run and subsequent King's 6-0 response to start set three, the Monarchs grabbed control, going on another 5-0 run to take a 12-7 lead. They withstood some 'Wick pressure, as the Hawks narrowed their deficit to two multiple times, and won four of the last five points to extend the match.
• The hosts were resilient in set four, pulling out a close win to take the match. With the game tied at 20-all, the Hawks won the next four points to gain match point, thanks in part to Betelak and Maloney kills. After a kill from the Monarchs' Danielle Kitchner made it 24-21, Kaitlyn Ludder (West Sand Lake, NY/Averill Park) sent one to the floor for the 3-1 win.
• Maloney had another dominant performance, putting up her fourth double-double of the season (and second in as many games) with a team-high 19 kills as well as 14 digs. 
• Katie Boak (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) had 29 digs to tie for the match-high, and Ericson had 15 digs to go with her impressive match-leading 46 assists.
• Walsh contributed with nine kills and five digs, Betelak had eight kills and two blocks, and Gagnon had a nifty all-around match, with eight kills, four aces, two solo blocks, and a dig.

Match Two vs. SUNY Poly (3-1; 25-17, 25-21, 16-25, 25-17)

• Hartwick jumped out to an early lead in the first set in front of raucous student section, taking 6-2 and 12-5 leads and forcing a Wildcats timeout. The pause did not help too much, as the Hawks would extend their lead out to 20-9. SUNY Poly did close the gap a bit, but the deficit was just too much to overcome and Hartwick took an eight-point win.
• Set two mirrored its predecessor to start, as the Hawks again took a 12-5 lead after a Walsh ace. The lead was at 18-10 when the Wildcats started their run, using a couple of Hawk errors and two kills apiece from Brittany Adams and Makayla Hulett to go on a 6-0 run and make the score 18-16. After a Hartwick timeout, Gagnon brought the lead back to three on a kill, but two more 'Wick attack errors cut the lead to just one at 19-18. The Hawks stayed with it, grabbing the next four points, and winning the set, 25-21, on a Betelak kill from Christina Mattocks (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta).
• For the second time in hours, Hartwick had a bit of a letdown in set three while leading two sets to none, as SUNY Poly took a fairly close game at 10-8 and grabbed a 14-9 lead. With the score at 21-16, the Wildcats went in for the kill, taking the last four points to win the third set, 25-16.
• The Hawks again would not let the match be pushed to a decisive fifth set. They took a 9-5 lead on a service ace from Sarah Petz (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) and would extend the lead to 14-8 before a Poly surge cut the advantage to 16-14. 'Wick gradually lengthened the lead out to four at 21-17, and then swiped the final four points on two aces from Ericson and consecutive kills by Maloney and Betelak, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
• Maloney again led her team in kills, as well as all players, with 16 kills. She also had eight digs, a block, and an ace.
• Three Hawks were in the double-digits in digs; Boak led with 17, Ericson had 12 to go with her 30 assists and two aces, and Walsh had 10 to go with her four kills and service ace.
• Gagnon was second on the squad with nine kills, and Betelak contributed with eight kills and two blocks.
• Ludder had a nice all-around evening, registering five kills, six digs, two blocks, and an ace.

The Hawks take their 7-4 record into conference play next, as they travel to Elmira on Wednesday, September 18 for a 6 p.m. Empire 8 opener.

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