The Hofstra Invitational included the final few games of the non-conference schedule for the Hofstra Pride volleyball team and it was the perfect way for them to gain momentum going into CAA-play.
The Pride had already rallied to defeat Fort Wayne in the first game of the invitational, and Saturday’s 3-0 win over the American University Eagles only solidified Hofstra as a team to beat going forward.
“As a team today, we played a good level of volleyball throughout the match,” head coach Emily Mansur said following her team’s victory. “We did a really good job as a Hofstra volleyball team.”
The Pride not only beat the Eagles, but they did so in dominating fashion. The Pride took the first set against American by a score of 25-12. Even with the Eagles playing offense more aggressively in the second set, Hofstra took the second set by a comfortable margin, 25-18.
It was only in the third set where American really made it close. The Pride was one point away from taking the set and match, 24-19, when the Eagles rallied to be within one point. Mansur made the decisive move of the game, calling a timeout to calm her team down.
“I told them to stay focused. We have one goal: to win a volleyball match. We need to win three sets, so we need to do what will win us the third set,” said Mansur.
The Pride, following Mansur’s timeout, came out and scored the final point to take the set, the match and the Invitational with a 2-0 record.
There were plenty of contributions to go around. Luisa Domingues was the defensive anchor for the Pride, leading the team in digs with 14. Hannah Klemm set up her teammates 35 times on offense.
The biggest performance of the game came from freshmen right-side hitter Laura Masciullo, who totaled a team-leading 14 kills and 3 service aces.
“Our game plan was to start with the middle,” Mansur explained. “Our middles were a big part of the game plan, and then we went away from that. Our outsides, the right side of the court specifically, was very consistent, so we kept going to them.”
Now it’s time for the Pride to focus on their conference play ahead. The team will open conference play next Friday in Charleston, South Carolina, as they face off against the College of Charleston Cougars. Game time is 7 p.m.
