By Marco Meglio – STAFF WRITER
The Hofstra Pride suffered a season ending loss to the College of Charleston 3-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association Championship Friday. The Pride finished 21-11 on the season with a 12-4 conference record. At times the game seemed to be very in control for the Pride, even after falling down 2-0 early.
They went on to score more points than the Cougars, the total ending up 95-78. The Pride piled on ten aces compared to the Cougars four. The Pride also had more blocks, more digs and more aces in the game.
The sets throughout were tightly contested, even from the start. In set one, the Cougars prevailed, with Kennedy Madison giving them a 26-25 lead, followed up with an attacking error by Leticia Valente to seal their first set win. The Pride followed up the first set loss by coming out strong in the second.
Hofstra went on to start a 4-0 run to start the second set, only to see it evaporate within a few minutes. In a back and forth set, the Pride positioned themselves for a set win when they went up 21-20 on a Leticia Valente kill. She tallied 16 kills in the game, second most on the team. The Cougars made a late run, though, taking the second set 25-22.
But down 2-0 the Pride responded. In the third set, the Cougars could not match the all out attack. The Pride rolled through the third set 25-18. The focus shifted to the fourth set, with the Pride down 2-1. A pivotal set, the Cougars came out strong and opened up a 9-3 lead early on the Pride. With a set of small runs, the Pride cut the lead to 16-12. The set continued and Hofstra found itself down 25-24 with the Championship on the line. Three straight points secured the set win for the Pride, forcing a fifth and final set.
The fifth set remained close throughout but two straight points following a 13-13 tie secured the Cougars the CAA Championship.
Nanishka Perez and Leticia Velente had 18 and 16 kills respectively. Hannah Klemm tacked on 58 assists but it simply was not enough.
The loss shifts the focus for the Pride to the off-season and moving forward. Fortunately the Pride will only be losing two seniors to graduation. The core will remain intact, but this is still an earlier exit than Hofstra had wanted.
