The Hofstra University volleyball team saw a devastating end to their 2025 campaign in the Championship round of the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Tournament. While the season did not end the way they had hoped, the Pride saw their best season since 2018, were crowned CAA co-regular season champions and made their names known nationally.
The Pride opened their season with a bang, going on a historic run to open play. They tied their program-best start with a 13-2 record, only falling to the College of Charleston in that span.
From the get-go, the team culture seemed stronger, the rallies felt bigger and the wins kept pouring in. The Pride went unbeaten in non-conference play and held the best opponent hitting percentage in the nation for over two weeks. The Pride finished the season second in the NCAA in opponent hitting percentage, posting a .127 clip, just .001 behind the No. 1 University of Nebraska.
The Pride vied for the top seed in the conference all season, and in the final weeks of play, dropped a match to Towson University. This pushed the Pride back down to the second-place spot in the conference, but thanks to some help from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University the Pride found themselves tied atop the CAA on the last day of the regular season.
Hofstra finished the year with a record of 22-4 – including postseason – and a 13-3 mark in conference play, which earned them a first-round bye and first-seed in the CAA Tournament.
The Pride came into the semifinals round hot against N.C. A&T, only posting six attacking errors on the day. They also held the Aggies to just a .130 hitting percentage for the sweep.
Coming into the championships round, the Pride looked to earn their first conference title in seven years, but they ran into a foe whom they did not see during the regular season – Campbell University. The Fighting Camels earned the first set victory, then the Pride rallied to back-to-back set wins. When it seemed like the Pride were about to close out the fourth set and go dancing, the Camels had other plans, and finished off the fourth set on 5-0 run, forcing a winner-take-all set five. Campbell took the momentum shift and ran away with the CAA title in the fifth set.
Despite the heartbreak in the CAA Tournament, the Pride saw greatness on the court through individual performances and historic marks this year.
Hofstra saw a mix of newcomers and seasoned veterans rising to the occasion. CAA Setter of the Year, Nina Jioshvili-Ravva, was stellar throughout her freshman campaign posting 915 assists, 44 kills, 41 service aces and 46 blocks.
Blocking was a concern heading into the season. Historically, the Pride lacked a crop of blockers that were able to lift the Hofstra defense. Freshman Julia Amorim helped change that. Both the Pride and Amorim ranked fourth in the nation in blocks per set, with 2.92 and 1.65 respectively. This was a huge improvement from last season, when the Pride averaged just 1.9 blocks per set. Freshman Lilia Duczek also helped build a net-front identity. The Polish native tallied 80 blocks on the season, while averaging 1.4 blocks per set, earning her 17 starts on the year.
“[Blocking] is a big improvement for us. Blocking has been something that in different seasons we have had different struggles, but I think they are having fun blocking,” said Hofstra head coach Emily Mansur.
After losing one of Hofstra’s greatest ever liberos, Chiarra Cucco, to graduation, defense was a question mark coming into the season. However, Nil Kayaalp quickly rose to become the go-to libero for the Pride. She ranked fourth in the CAA in digs per set and helped anchor the Pride’s defense.
5 feet 7 inches outside hitter Izadora Stedile was a pillar of the Hofstra volleyball program this season, serving as a premier attacker and defender. She earned CAA player of the year this season and eclipsed 1,000 career kills and digs, becoming only the seventh player in Hofstra history to reach that milestone. After her illustrious career with the Pride, Stedile ranked ninth all-time in kills, with 1,221. Filling the hole of offensive and defensive play that Stedile provided will be a difficult task this off-season.
Clara Bal is another graduating member of the program who will be missed next season. Bal earned All-CAA Second Team honors and reached 1,000 career kills in the CAA Semifinals. This season saw Bal take a bench role instead of one of a starter, she acted as a sparkplug off the bench to help the team complete sets. Bal served as an adaptable piece who guaranteed firepower and accuracy. Her energy and immediate impact on the court will be irreplaceable.
Despite the huge losses to graduation, the Pride still have captain Beatriz Braga, who had a standout season and will likely be the leading attacker next season.
Braga earned All-CAA First Team honors and saw her best season with the program, posting 349 kills, which ranked fourth in the conference. Braga recorded eight double-doubles and showed up in the postseason, providing a team-leading 15 kills against the Aggies and a career-high 25 kills against the Fighting Camels.
“She has done a wonderful job and has been super serious since the spring, and she has put [in] so much work on herself and the people around her,” Mansur said. “We are very grateful for the work that she has done.”
While putting on a show on the court, the individuals on this team came together to create an electric environment while fighting day in and day out for one another. The foundation of this chemistry can be traced back to the summer, when multiple of the players stayed on Long Island and did not return to their respective home countries. The team worked not only on practicing volleyball skills, but also on forming a connection, which paid dividends come match day.
“All the sacrifices from our lives individually, off the court, affected the team chemistry because if we didn’t spend the time with each other, we wouldn’t have this chemistry,” Kayaalp said. “This could be the best team I have ever played on in my whole life and my whole career. So, I feel very lucky to have this this year.”
Although the season came to an end without a championship, it was a year for the history books. It will go down as one of Mansur’s strongest seasons at the helm in her 11 seasons with the program. In 2026, the Pride have much to look forward to, as they have built a strong foundation on and off the court. Fans of the program will have to wait until August for the Pride to return to the court and start the chase for the title once again.
