By Olson Barthelemy

Can there ever really be a downside to winning? Most would probably say no, but if you ask the Pride volleyball team, they might tell you that winning itself doesn’t have a downside, but it’s when you win that truly matters. Look no further than back to last year when Hofstra went on a 10-match winning streak starting on Sept. 27. The team won the CAA regular season title on the strength of the streak, but faltered down the stretch, seemingly having used up its best efforts too early. That being said, only an extraordinary pessimist could find a downside to the Pride’s recent play. After a rocky non-conference start out west, the Pride has been feasting on CAA competition. “We had a rough preseason, but we’re clicking as a team. We’re starting to learn we can’t have these emotional highs and lows, and the leaders are becoming more consistent,” interim head coach Lauren Netherby said.Coming into a four-match CAA home stand beginning last Thursday, the Pride was already a perfect 3-0 in conference, highlighted by a victory over reigning CAA Tournament champion Virginia Commonwealth.The Pride faced an early test as it hosted an undefeated Delaware team on Sept. 21. The Blue Hens were 12-0 heading into the contest, whereas the Pride had won its first three CAA matches. Something had to give for one of these teams, and judging by the way the Pride performed in the 3-0 sweep (30-16, 30-27, 30-26), the Blue & Gold has no intentions of slowing down. Sophomore outside hitter Lauren Engle led the Pride in the surprisingly easy win with 11 kills and a .450 hitting percentage; however, the Pride exhibited an overall balanced attack with four other players with nine or more kills. Hofstra also boasted an overall team hitting percentage of .293, compared to the paltry .088 on the part of the Blue Hens. The next challenge, following the effortless victory against Delaware, was the Towson Tigers on Sunday. The Tigers, just like Delaware, came into the match with their own bit of momentum, having won four of their previous five matches, and they proved to be a slightly tougher test for the Pride. The Pride started the match off very aggressively, jumping ahead by a score of 14-2 in the first game. The 12-point differential would hold up for the remainder of the game as Hofstra took game one, 30-18. Though Towson managed to put up an initial semblance of resistance in the second game, they dropped that game by the same score. A sweep seemed to be in the works, especially considering the statistical dominance the Pride had over the Tigers (a .508 percentage compared to the Tigers’ .108). However, Towson proved to be a tougher test than Delaware, as they turned the tide and took the third game relatively easily, 30-22. “In the third game, when Towson took one from us, it was the serve receive game that broke down,” Netherby said. Any thoughts of a comeback by Towson were premature, however, as the Pride took the fourth game, in a similarly easy fashion, 30-20.