Match one: Hofstra hunts down Princeton in four

By Victoria Mickens – SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE

In their tenth game of the season Hofstra volleyball initiated with a tight game against Princeton only to explode with power by the fifteen-minute mark of the first set; leaving the Tigers in the dust.

On this particular Friday night, sophomore middle blocker Leticia Valente, right side Brianna Montgomery, and junior outside hitter Veronika Kostova collected all of the points. But, of course, they had the unquestionable assistance of a resilient back line.

This very strong 26-24 start had the ladies pumped for the second set which they had absolutely no problem dominating. The Pride was focused and animated; which was made evident in their smiles, constant positive reinforcement, and the activity on and off the court.

The Pride tried their best to finish the match in three sets, as they lead the beginning of the third set with 13-11. Nevertheless, The Tigers were not leaving without a fight, answering back by scoring seven points in a row. Consequently, the Pride lost some of their momentum during the third set; head coach Emily Mansur mentioned, “We get too relaxed, which we cannot do, which they will learn.”

However, despite losing that particular set overall the ladies showed promising enthusiasm and commitment during the second half of the third set.

That same commitment earned the Pride a win after four sets. Throughout that fourth set the Pride front line demonstrated the same explosiveness that they had when the match began and left the Tigers with no chance to catch up nor to take this match to a fifth set, winning 25-23.

Overall, Hofstra Volleyball three of four sets in this match against Princeton. As a result, Hofstra is currently 8-3 all-time against Princeton and 4-1 in four-set matches for fall of 2015.

The ladies’ high energy, positive thinking, and comradery, in addition to Coach Mansur’s excellent matchups are to thank for this rewarding victory against the Princeton Tigers.

Match two: Comeback for the ages pushes Pride past FGCU

By Kevin Carroll – ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

Down two sets to none, and just hanging on by a thread against a tough Florida Gulf Coast squad in the third, it would have been easy for the Hofstra volleyball team to lay down and wilt under the pressure.

But instead, the Pride rallied, time and time again, winning the last three sets to finish off an improbable and incredible comeback, beating the Eagles three sets to two at the Hofstra Physical Education Center on last Saturday afternoon.

Freshman Nanishka Perez had a breakout performance for the Pride, leading all players with 20 kills, and adding 9 digs.

Veronika Kostova had 19 kills, plus Leticia Valente and Michaela Rucli each had 13 apiece. Hannah Klemm had 65 assists to anchor the Pride.

“It’s a very tough thing to come back from being down 2-0, so that was something really special for us,” said head coach Emily Mansur.

After their win over Princeton the previous night, the Pride exhibited possible signs of fatigue early on in the match, keeping pace with, but unable to overcome, the Eagle’s potent offense and rock-solid defense.

The first set went down to the wire, but FGCU held off the Pride down the stretch en route to a 26-24 victory. Then the Eagles won back-to-back sets, scoring the last five points of the second set to win 25-18. The Pride had eleven attacking errors in the first two sets, and didn’t produce as well when they faced Princeton.

The third set was another back-and-forth struggle, both fighting to gain the upper hand. Hofstra refused to go out quietly, using two Valente service aces to take the third set 25-19, momentarily staying alive.

The Pride came out roaring in the fourth set, holding 5-0 and 14-7 leads and forced the Eagles to regroup. FGCU fought all the way back down the stretch, firing on all cylinders, to go up 24-23 and forcing the Pride to the very brink. A Hofstra timeout seemed to do the trick as the Pride rattled off the next three points to tie things up. The 26-24 victory sent the match into the fifth and final set.

This decisive set was almost a disaster for the Pride, falling behind 3-0 early. Mansur called a timeout, and the Pride came out of it re-energized, scoring eight unanswered points to open an insurmountable lead. When the dust settled, the Pride had taken the fifth set 15-9, putting the exclamation point on a memorable comeback, Hofstra’s first time coming back from a two set deficit in almost four years.

“[It] doesn’t matter how down we are, we’re going to keep fighting,” said Mansur.

Match three: Hofstra becomes Asics champs, Klemm takes MVP

Alex Mitchell – STAFF WRITER

The Pride closed out the Hofstra/Asics Invitational in style.

Hofstra swept the Hartford Hawks three sets to none by the scores of 25-13, 25-14, 25-12. Thus, the three straight wins makes Hofstra the winners of the invitational.

“I thought we played very well as a team, everyone who went in did a great job and this was important for us” said head coach Emily Mansur following the win.

Hofstra dominated Hartford on kills; Hofstra had 49 while the Hawks had 16. Individually for the Pride, two underclassmen contributed greatly.

Freshman middle blocker/right side Natalie Brooker went 7-of-9 in kills, earning a .667 attack percentage. Plus, fellow freshman middle blocker Michela Rucli getting a match high 11 kills.

Their numbers would not be as notable without the help of setter Hannah Klemm. She dished out 34 assists against Hartford alone and 154 in total in the tournament. Klemm’s performance brought her the Hofstra/Asics Invitational tournament MVP award.

Hofstra was an offensive machine in each game they played, including their miracle comeback over Florida Gulf Coast earlier. Not once did the Pride’s endurance waiver. Mansur commented on her squad’s level of conditioning. “It’s good…I think it shows on being able to stay on a good level until the end of the day and just the overall expectation and hard work that they put in, it’s just a really good thing to see.”

Next for Hofstra is a trip down to North Carolina to grind out the Deacon Classic tournament hosted by Wake Forest. The Pride is scheduled to play Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of Georgia, and the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest in that order. With four wins on the week, Hofstra is rolling into these matches with a great deal of momentum.