After two losses in a row, the Hofstra University volleyball team excelled against the College of William & Mary in a three-set win on Friday, Nov. 1, taking the first match of the series against the Tribe.
This win put Hofstra at 10-3 in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play while the Tribe sat at 4-9 in conference play.
William & Mary kept a close match with the Pride in the first two sets, but Hofstra ran away with a dominating 25-10 performance in the third, spearheaded by a nine-point run.
The Pride’s offense shined in the match, with 50 kills in just three sets. Izadora Stedile continued to lead Hofstra on the court with 12 kills and 13 digs. Beatriz Braga had 11 kills and Constanza Perez Sain had 10.
Braga’s strong performance jump-started the Pride offense, as Hofstra capitalized off her kills to go on multiple runs.
Beatriz Alves and Ellie Pamatat both excelled in the setter position for the Pride, with 23 and 17 assists, respectively. The Pride’s defense put 49 digs on the board.
Stedile set the tone for the Pride, opening the match with a kill. The Tribe matched the Pride kill-for-kill early on with the teams tied at 10 apiece. Hofstra took the lead with a four point run, but William & Mary attacked back, pulling within one point late in the set.
The Pride kept digging, using momentum gained by back-to-back kills from Perez Sain to finish off the first set, 25-21.
Stedile and Perez Sain lead the offensive attack in the first set, earning six and five kills for the Pride, respectively.
Neither side found the run to pull away in an exciting second set that saw 10 ties throughout. Hofstra fell behind in the first few plays, but quickly regained control on the back of four straight kills by Braga.
The Pride stormed ahead to take a 21-17 lead after a 9-3 run, capitalizing on five attack errors from William & Mary.
The Tribe got hot, going on a four-point run, tying the game at 21 apiece. A kill delivered by Clara Bal broke up the Tribes run.
An attack error from Hofstra tied up the game again, but Hofstra was able to finish the job on two kills from Stedile and a bad William & Mary serve for the narrow 25-22 victory.
Braga’s six set kills led the Pride, giving Hofstra a commanding two set lead.
Hofstra was looking for the win in the third set and followed through with a dominate showing. The Pride looked sharp early on, earning them a 8-4 lead.
They continued to dig, keeping William & Mary’s offense at bay. The Tribe got as close as 16-10 before Hofstra showed how powerful their offense was.
Braga’s ninth kill of the match put the stamp on the Hofstra win, starting the nine-point run to finish off the sweep.
Hofstra used the momentum of the third set in the second match of the series against William & Mary on Saturday, Nov. 2, at 11 a.m.
Photo courtesy of Ethan Albin
