The Hofstra University volleyball team defeated North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in a five-set thriller on Sunday, Nov. 2. The match was the second of their weekend series in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play.
With the victory, Hofstra moved to 18-2 overall and 10-2 in CAA play, causing them to slide into a tie with Campbell University for first in the conference. The win marked their ninth in a row, while N.C. A&T dropped to 11-10 and 7-5 in CAA play.
Entering the afternoon, N.C. A&T’s Leonor Polezzi and Hofstra’s Nina Jioshvili-Ravva were first and second in assists per set in the CAA. The two did not disappoint, with both women totaling over 40 assists.
Beatriz Braga led the Pride with a season high 21 kills, while Izadora Stedile and Nil Kayaalp held down the defense with 21 digs each. Lilia Duczek led the Pride in blocks with seven.
It was a streaky start to the first set, with both the Pride and the Aggies having 3-0 runs in a race to ten points that N.C. A&T would win. The back-and-forth play continued throughout the first set, with the Pride bringing it within two multiple times, but N.C. A&T retained the lead throughout the first set and won 25-22. The loss was Hofstra’s first set loss since Sept. 27.
Hofstra started the second set on a 3-0 run, with Julia Amorim being responsible for two of the points. N.C. A&T battled back, tying the set at three apiece, but the Pride took back the lead. In a race to the first 15 points, the second set played like an inverse of the first set, where both teams went on runs, but Hofstra had the upper hand. A 5-0 N.C. A&T run gave the Aggies their first lead in the second set. Hofstra was able to regain the lead and did not relinquish it, which tied the match up at one. The Pride ended the set on a 6-0 run, with Clara Bal tallying half of those points to give the Pride the 25-18 set victory.
Hofstra entered the afternoon leading the nation in opponent hitting percentage and held the Aggies to a .065 hitting percentage in the second set.
The third set started as the most lopsided of the three, with Hofstra taking a 7-2 lead, including a 4-0 run that saw two blocks from Duczek. The Pride continued their dominant run in the third set, causing Aggie head coach Hal Clifton to use both of his timeouts before either team had reached 15 points. Hofstra continued their run and took a 2-1 match lead, with a 25-14 set win. The Pride had an incredible .484 hitting percentage in the third set.
The fourth set brought a return to the back-and-forth play, with the teams battling for every point. N.C. A&T was the first team to break the 10-point mark. Pride head coach Emily Mansur used her second timeout of the set when the Pride were behind 20-16. Hofstra showed a fighting spirit, but it was not enough, as the Aggies forced a fifth set with a 25-20 win.
The fifth and final set went exactly like three of the previous four. When one team scored, the other answered. A kill from Stedile ended the pendulum-like swing, giving the Pride the first multi-point lead of the final set. The Pride continued to roll, going on a 3-0 run, with Bal factoring in on a block and a kill, making the Aggies take their first timeout. Another Stedile kill caused the switchover with Hofstra up 8-3. The Pride took their first time out of the set after N.C. A&T scored two, bringing the final set to 8-5, still in favor of Hofstra. A 3-0 run caused the Aggies to take their second time out of the set, after they went down 11-5. Hofstra took four of the last six points and won the set 15-7.
Hofstra entered the weekend sixth in the nation in blocks per set. They totaled 18 blocks on the day and three and a half in the final set.
The Pride return home for a series against Towson University on Friday, Nov. 7. First serve is set for 4 p.m. from the David S. Mack Physical Education Center.
