By Joe Barone – STAFF WRITER
The pressure proved to be overwhelming for the Hofstra Volleyball team as they suffered a heartbreaking defeat to the James Madison Dukes, 3-2 on Sunday.
After being shut out their previous time on the court, the Pride initially regained their touch. In the opening two sets of Sunday’s match, Hofstra breezed past James Madison 25-16 and 25-19, respectively. Led by Nanishka Perez and Leticia Valente’s career high 18 kills, everything was working for the Pride.
It was an ideal opening two sets for Hofstra, as the offense averaged a .347 attack percentage. .371 was Hofstra’s highest total of the match, obtained in the second set.
Hofstra needed one more set victory to capture their fifteenth win and sixth in the conference, however the Dukes would not go away quietly. Things changed in a New York minute.
Knowing their hopes were hanging from a thread, JMU started off fast in the third set. Trailing 4-1, Hofstra coach Emily Mansur called a timeout to compose her team and focus on the game plan. It proved to work, as the Pride volleyed leads back and forth until the Dukes ran away with the set finishing on a 7-2 run; the final score was 25-20.
With a 2-1 set lead, but subsiding confidence, Hofstra fell behind early in the fourth set. JMU could not be stopped as they built an early 15-7 advantage. Janey Goodman was relentless for the Dukes with 21 kills, 10 digs, and four blocks. Setting up Goodman was Sarah Patterson, who posted 54 assists.
While the blue and gold attempted to make a comeback with Luisa Domingues’ 21 digs, the Dukes evidently overwhelmed Hofstra 25-16.
As the pressure mounted on Hofstra like finals week, JMU stormed out of the gate in the final set constructing an early 5-1 lead.
Hofstra’s 2-0 set advantage was slipping out of their hands and nothing could be done to stop the rally. The team committed 23 errors, opposed to JMU’s 15, while dropping its hitting percentage to a humbling .247.
In the end, the efforts from Nanishka Perez and Hannah Klemm, who posted her team-leading fourth double-double of the season, were not enough as the Pride dropped the final set, and ultimately the match 15-9, and 3-2. It was Hofstra’s first loss surrendering a 2-0 set lead since Oct. 9, 2011 against UNCW. The Pride is now 329-14 all-time when faced with that same situation.
Despite blowing a two-set advantage, the team should keep their heads held high for displaying resiliency in the final three sets. James Madison overwhelmed the Pride with tremendous amounts of pressure in their fourth out of five consecutive road games.
The Hofstra volleyball team finishes their long road trip next Friday in Delaware for a 7 p.m. tilt against the Fightin’ Blue Hens.
