The Hofstra University volleyball team triumphed in a five-set win to complete a weekend sweep over the Campbell University Fighting Camels on Sunday, Oct. 29.
“This is our first [five]-set win of the year,” said Hofstra head coach Emily Mansur. “We are very excited about that because we are going to need that as we move on through the season. It’s two comparable teams, and Campbell definitely played their game today, which was a little bit different than yesterday, so it’s a nice win to have.”
The Pride entered the series on a downhill tread but picked themselves up with Yagmur Cinel’s team-leading 15 kills. Clara Bal and Izadora Stedile also came in clutch with 10 kills each.
“For [Cinel], what a great weekend for her,” Mansur said. “It was really, really cool to see; she started a little tough today, but then she just moved up and played a really good game. And [Stedile] came into a really tough situation and helped change the momentum and carry us to this win.”
Hofstra still stands atop the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) at 18-7 but remains stagnant in conference play at 8-7.
Hofstra and Campbell worked themselves into a five-set game with the Pride taking the second and fourth sets 25-21 and 25-18. At the same time, the Camels stayed out in front with first and third set wins, 25-16 and 25-23.
The Pride got things going in the fifth set by attacking the court first from two errors made by Maddie Converse for Campbell, 2-0. The Camels answered with two kills by Gwen Molkow and Converse with an attack error on Stedile to climb up 3-2.
Hofstra continued to trend upward and took the lead again 5-4 off a fierce Sarah Pierre kill. Things got interesting when each team encountered tense back-and-forth scoring until Hofstra scored two straight on an error and a Cinel kill making it a 10-9 game. Back and forth scoring continued again as they traded kill for kill with the crowd roaring on. Campbell tied the game at 12 off a defensive miscue from Stedile.
Both teams tied the fifth set 11 times for an only 15-point match.
The two biggest stars of the day came in clutch with three straight kills, two coming from Cinel and the other from
Stedile, to bring the beat down and win the set and match 15-12 over the Camels.
Hofstra has just four games remaining in the regular season, and each weekend is as important as the last coming down the stretch.
“It’s crucial as there is nothing set yet,” Mansur said. “So this is a great win, and we celebrate today, but at the start of next week, we have a new opponent and a whole new focus because it is super important as to where the CAA standings are right now.”
Hofstra will take a trip down to South Carolina as they go up against the College of Charleston Cougars in a weekend series on Saturday, Nov. 4, and Sunday, Nov. 5. The first game is at 1 p.m. and the second game is at 12 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Matteo Bracco
