The Hofstra Pride volleyball team put together a strong performance against Long Island rival Stony Brook, swiping a 3-0 victory from the Seawolves in front of a packed crowd at the Hofstra University Fitness Center.
The volleyball team, which normally plays its home games at the Mack Physical Education Center, has to relocate to the Fitness Center for its first six home matches due to the presidential debate on September 26th.
The bleachers were packed so tightly that the Fitness Center staff had to bring in extra seating to accommodate the large audience. Despite the additional sitting room, there were still dozens of fans lined up against the wall and standing on the upstairs track to watch the spectacle.
“I hope everybody comes back,” said Hofstra head coach Emily Mansur with a big smile. “It’s so exciting for us [to play in front of a large crowd]. It’s nice for the team; we play better when there are people here.”
The fans were treated to quite the performance from the Pride. Hofstra cruised to a 25-19 win in the first set thanks to Veronika Kostova’s and Michaela Rucli’s efforts on the offensive end.
The Pride struggled at the net defensively as the team didn’t record its first block until midway through the second set. This allowed the Seawolves to stay close to Hofstra in the first set, but a slew of service errors ultimately stunted any potential momentum.
The second set was tougher for the Pride. Nanishka Perez and Laura Mascuillo were plagued by attack errors while Stony Brook found holes in the Pride defense, shooting strikes down the lane with ease. Coach Mansur called multiple timeouts and was unafraid to try new player combinations on the court to get something going.
“We were just going very high [on the net] which makes blocking a little more difficult,” said Mansur of that second set. “We didn’t adjust to the tempo that they ran. So it was really just us taking too long to adjust to the offense of Stony Brook.”
Down 21-16 late in the second set, the Pride didn’t give in. Mansur brought Hannah Klemm, the conference’s top setter, back into the match. Klemm’s entry was a huge influence on the team.
Her crisp, accurate passes led to emphatic slams by Kostova and Rucli at the net. Stony Brook compounded its troubles with a trio of attack errors. All of a sudden Hofstra was up 26-25.
It was then that Mascuillo hammered home a perfect pass from Luisa Sydlik for the set-winner. The crowd at the Fitness Center erupted, the front row of fans rising to their feet and bellowing a cheer for Hofstra as the Pride took a 2-0 set advantage.
The team righted the ship and led almost the entirety of the third set, clinching with a 25-21 win for the three-set sweep. Hofstra’s blocking improved tremendously in the third set with the addition of sophomore transfer Doris Bogoje to the lineup.
“What I love about [Bogoje] is her spirit on the court,” said Mansur. “She did play very well but I think that she brought a light to us. She really brought an intensity that we were missing a little bit and she put up some decent blocks.”
The win pushes the Pride to 4-0 on the season. Competition will only get more difficult from here. Hofstra will participate in the UNLV Challenge this weekend and the Syracuse Tournament afterwards. The Pride will then return home in the hopes that a large, energized crowd awaits.
