The Hofstra University volleyball team defeated Rider University in a midweek non-conference matchup on Tuesday, Oct. 21, after sweeping them 25-22, 25-9 and 25-14 on the road. The Pride are currently on a 21-set win streak and have swept their opponents in the last seven matches.
Hofstra improved to 16-2 on the season while Rider dropped to 8-12 overall.
Clara Bal led the score for the Pride with 13 kills and a service ace. Izadora Stedile followed with 11 kills and 10 digs for her 11th double-double of the season. Nina Jioshvili-Ravva led with 38 assists and recorded three service aces. In the back row, Nil Kayaalp led with 15 digs, tying her match-high of the season.
After holding Rider to a 0.097 hitting percentage, the Pride’s defense is still at the top of the NCAA leaderboard with an opponent hitting percentage of 0.099.
Hofstra played a back-and-forth opening set, holding the lead until the Broncs started a 4-0 run that favored Rider with a score of 9-7. The Pride regained the lead on a 6-0 run, where Bal scored three kills and Constanza Perez Sain made two of her own. After Jioshvili-Ravva committed a service error, the Broncs regained possession of the lead. The Pride did not find the upper hand until the 20-18 mark. Play then returned to the back-and-forth style that opened the match, but the Pride earned the set point on a kill from Julia Amorim.
Amorim, who made three blocks on the day, continues to be the NCAA’s third-best middle blocker, averaging 1.71 blocks per set.
The second set was a much more lopsided victory for the Pride, holding the Broncs to a -0.120 hitting percentage. Of Rider’s nine points in the second set, four came from Hofstra errors. The remaining Rider points resulted from Erynn Gotsch and Molly Rohde contributing two kills apiece, while Brynn Johnson tacked on a kill of her own.
Perez Sain also earned all of her team-leading four service aces for the day in the second set.
After an error from Bal gave Rider an early lead in the third set, the Pride went on an 8-0 run, where Bal made two kills and Jioshvili-Ravva made two service aces. The Pride held a substantial lead over the Broncs in the final set, leading by as much as 11 points. The match ended when Rider’s Rylah Robinson recorded an error on Perez Sain’s serve, securing Hofstra’s seventh consecutive match win.
After concluding their non-conference play for the season, the Pride now have the weekend off. They resume play on Nov. 1, at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. The first serve is set for 4 p.m.
