The Hofstra University volleyball team secured their spot in the semifinals of the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Championship tournament on Thursday, Nov. 21, with their 3-0 victory over North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T). This is the Pride’s first appearance in the semifinals since 2021, where they fell to Elon University in four sets.
The Pride looked strong out on the court by putting up 39 kills, 50 digs and five blocks. First Team All-CAA member, Izadora Stedile, led the Pride in kills and digs with 10 and 17, respectively. Constanza Perez Sain, recently named CAA All-Rookie Team, notched eight kills in the match. Beatriz Alves earned 31 assists on the day, aiding the Pride’s success. Iyanna Garvin put up three of the Pride’s five blocks and five kills. Chiara Cucco continued to stay tough as the Pride’s libero with 15 digs.
Hofstra started the tournament strong, taking the first set in a dominant 25-14 victory. The Pride outscored the Aggies 12-3 in kills and 14-11 in digs.
The Pride came in hot, taking the early lead on strong offense. A service ace from Nil Kayaalp and kills from Emilly Nunes and Perez Sain jump-started Hofstra’s attack. The Pride minimized their errors and capitalized on errors from N.C. A&T. Hofstra held the lead throughout the entire set, not giving the Aggies a chance to come back. Perez Sain notched four kills in the set.
The second set was an exciting seesaw beginning. Hofstra earned the first two points of the set on two kills from Stedile. The Aggies quickly answered, tying the score at 3-3. When the Pride pulled away with some points, N.C. A&T got right back into the set and tied the set at six a piece.
Hofstra took the lead on a three-point run, sparked by a kill from Perez Sain. The Pride returned to their dominant ways, tacking on to their lead with 13 kills throughout the set. They took the second set in another 25-14 victory, earning a 2-0 lead.
The Aggies took the first two points of the third set. The Pride got right back into the set on a five-point run sparked by Perez Sain, giving them the lead. N.C. A&T came back on a service error and kill but only got within a point of the Pride.
The Aggies returned in the middle of the set with a five-point run, including back-to-back service aces from Leonor Polezzi. Hofstra put to end to this streak with back-to-back kills from Beatriz Braga and continued to hold their lead.
Despite the Aggies’ efforts to push a fourth set, the Pride were able to finish out with a 25-20 victory.
The Pride looks for their first CAA Championships since 2018. They faced the one seed College of Charleston in the semifinals of the CAA Championship tournament on Friday, Nov. 22. The match was set for 3 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Ethan Albin
