New York, NY - The #2 seeded Hunter College Hawks faced off against #1 Baruch Bearcats on Friday, April 8^th in the CUNYAC/Pepsi Championship. Hunter College emerged victorious in a five set thriller for the "Battle of Lexington Avenue" and CUNYAC titles. After facing off in the finals 10 of the previous 12 years, which includes last season's four set Baruch victory, the Hawks snapped the host's seven-year win streak of the CUNYAC championship.

In the first set, Hunter struggled to convert accurate passes into points, allowing Baruch to go up 17-12 mid-set. Riding the energy of Steven Tarquinio and three time CUNYAC rookie of the week, Blake Hogan, the Hawks found a way to climb back into the match. Ultimately, the Purple and Gold could not withstand the strong defense of their opponents, ending the set 25-21 in favor of Baruch.

Newly awarded 2016 Coach of the Year, James Pompeo's squad, jumped out to a quick lead in the second set 13-8 but the Bearcats would not go away easily. Led by senior outside hitter, Brady Ambro, Baruch kept close. In the end, the Hawks handled the Bearcats with a 25-17 score to even the match at 1-1.

The Purple and Gold failed to take the third set in a nail-biting tally of 27-25. Throughout the set, neither team was able to establish a sound lead off of their serve. Points were traded back and forth while excellent defense was on display by both teams. Hunter was the first to serve for set point at 24-23 but Baruch tied it up and eventually had two set points of their own. The Bearcats capitalized on the second set point to go up 2-1 on the match.

Hunter responded in the fourth, vaulting to a quick 9-3 lead behind Benjamin Cassidy's pinpoint serving. As expected from the top seeded Bearcats, Baruch would stay within striking distance, with Ambro continuing to rack up his kills total. Stephen Roach served Baruch to a 3 point swing late in the set. The early unforced errors were ultimately too much to overcome as Hunter won the fourth, 25-21 to force a fifth and final set.

For the third time this year, both squads faced off in a five set marathon; Hunter taking the first and Baruch claiming the second. The Hawks looked calm under pressure going up 8-4 early thanks to a booming spike from Tarquinio. From that point on, Hunter never stepped off the gas. The Hawks won the final set 15-7.
Hunter recorded 51 kills, 67 digs, seven blocks and posted a .219 hitting percentage. Nicolas Sanchez tallied 48 assists in the win.

Tarquinio was awarded Tournament Most Valuable Player. Joseph Muir and Ben Crusinberry was named to the CUNYAC All-Tournament team.

This is Hunter College's 15^th CUNYAC championship. Their postseason continues with an automatic NCAA berth.