NEW PALTZ, NY (www.OLDWESTBURYPANTHERS.com) - The SUNY College at Old Westbury women's volleyball team participated in the New Paltz Hawks Invitational on Friday and Saturday from the Hawk Center in New Paltz, New York.  Old Westbury opened with a pair of three set defeats to New Paltz and Salisbury on Friday before falling to in four sets to Mount Saint Mary and three to Ithaca. 

Old Westbury now stands at 1-4 on the season and returns to action on Tuesday when they hit the road to take on the Brooklyn Bulldogs at 6 p.m. 

In the opener against the Hawks, New Paltz earned a 25-9, 25-5 and 25-9 sweep to kick off the weekend.  New Paltz improved to 6-3 with the win, hitting .333 with 34 kills in 75 swings, compared to Old Westbury's seven kills in 59 total attempts to hit -.119.  Allie Giancola paced Old Westbury with nine digs, three assists and two aces.  Kimberly Catania nailed down a team-best four kills.  Lauren O'Hern served up nine of the Hawks' 20 aces on the match to go along with 17 assists while Anna Paulik, Alex Bizub and Liz Hauser each recorded six kills to pace New Paltz. Katy Herbst added 11 digs.

Old Westbury fell to the Salisbury Sea Gulls, who improved to 10-1 with a 25-10, 25-10 and 25-15 sweep to close out the opening day.  Catania, Jocelyn Small and Rayn Brown accounted for 7-of-11 Old Westbury kills on the match, which were not enough to outduel Salisbury's 34 on .286 hitting percentage.  Small added three aces and Giancola chipped in with nine digs and three assists.  Salisbury's Kacey Franz handed out 16 assists while Gretchen Vandermeer followed with nine and Shannon Russell racked up six kills in 12 swings. 

Against Mount Saint Mary (3-8), Old Westbury took the opening set by a score of 25-19. The Knights rallied to win the match by taking the following three sets by scores of, 25-13, 25-17, and 27-25.  Mount Saint Mary was led by Kayla Kurka, who led all players with 18 kills, and Natalie Candarelli who collected 12 kills.  Catania recorded a team-high 16 kills for the Panthers, while Giancola notched 24 digs and recorded ten assists for Old Westbury's first double-double of the season. Late in the fourth set, Old Westbury missed three opportunities to send the match into a fifth and decisive set. Trailing 24-21, Mount Saint Mary won six of the next seven points, to conclude the match.  Old Westbury will have a chance for redemption on November 3rd when the Panthers and Knights tangle in the regular season Skyline Conference finale in Newburgh, New York. 

Old Westbury closed out the Invitational falling 25-11, 25-6 and 25-11 to the Ithaca Bombers (5-7).  Samantha Howley scooped up 10 digs and Giancola had nine as Ithaca had 73 total attacks on the match of which 37 went for kills.  Old Westbury struggled against the Bombers, recording 11 kills, 15 attacking errors in 73 total attacks.  Small led Old Westbury with two aces while Catania recorded six kills and Howley added four assists.  Grace Chang's four aces, Molly Brown's 17 assists and Justine Duryea's 10 kills sparked Ithaca to victory.

BROOKLYN BULLDOGS UP NEXT FOR THE PANTHERS: Old Westbury returns to the court on Tuesday for a non-conference road battle with the Brooklyn Bulldogs.  First serve is slated for 6 p.m. from the West Quad Center in Brooklyn, New York. 

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