The Hofstra volleyball team has become one of the hottest teams on campus because of their 12-game winning streak: the fifth longest in the nation. With a winning streak comes the trials and tribulation of pressure and a long season, surpassing all of the pressure and turning it into motivation.
“As a coach, I can’t talk about a winning streak,” said Hofstra head coach Emily Mansur. “Every match that we enter we are zero-zero versus that opponent. I want them to enjoy what they are doing but understand that mindset going into each week.”
To provide a full picture, the volleyball team didn’t get off to such a hot start early on in the season. In fact, the team’s record was 3-8 before starting Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play.
Before the season began, Hofstra ranked fifth in the preseason polls. They were considered to be rebuilding after the 2021 season. However, Mansur knew from the start this team was something special.
“I knew [that] this is a special team. I do believe that. I knew we could do some great things,” Mansur said. “We got hit very early with some very tough injuries and it took longer than expected but I knew we could do special things.”
The team then steamrolled through six opponents from that point on and hardly noticed they were ever on a winning streak.
Redshirt senior Sarah Pierre feels that through these 12 games, it’s important to build that culture and legacy amongst the team.
“After the recent home game against [College of] Charleston, that’s when everyone was like, wow, we’re 8-0, and 8-0 is already a big path,” Pierre said. “But that’s when it stuck with us and resonated within the team that we were growing and had a winning streak going.”
“Our biggest emphasis is on culture and legacy,” Pierre said. “We want to continue to build that for the future years to come.”
As the team stands right now, they are young and ready to take on whatever comes their way. Freshman outside hitter Izadora Stedile talked a bit about the pressure a streak can put on the players.
“We just basically keep going, but it’s also our responsibility because we are the best ones,” Stedile said. “We just go into each game with the mentality that we can win more games and keep our position in the standings.”
As a winning streak surmounts, most players feel more pressure to win games. This team flexed their ability to stay positive in such an emotionally heightened moment in program history
“I would say it’s not pressure but more like motivation because I like to set high standards,” Pierre said. “We are already at the top [of CAA standings] so just maintaining that position is just kind of a motivation, not really pressure.”
This past weekend was especially important for the team as they had to go up against the University of Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens with a potential playoff seeding and win streak on the line. Mansur talked about the significance of the games prior to the weekend.
“We are super excited, winning this weekend means a lot because we get to clinch [a] spot in the playoffs,” Mansur said. “I think for our ladies it’s super important to be playing for something real this weekend.”
This kind of feeling lives on in different ways in the players’ and coaches’ careers as well as their lives. This achievement has taught them many different things.
“Trust the process: that has helped me throughout the … season,” Pierre said. “Having more of a growth mindset. And just continuing to tell yourself and the people around you that you’re doing things for a purpose and an outcome.”
With playoffs creeping up, anyone with their eyes on the CAA standings knows that Towson is right behind the Pride, waiting at 9-1 to take over the No. 1 standing in the conference. Towson has dominated the CAA for the last few years.
“I’m really excited to go up against Towson because they were also undefeated recently in the conference and undefeated in the preseason,” Pierre said. “So I really like how we play them at the end of the season, right before the championship.”
As the season comes down the final stretch, the team wants everyone to remember how powerful they can be and what winning a dozen games back-to-back means to them and their fans. Coach Mansur credited the success to the team’s strong character and cohesion.
“We have a great group of individuals,” Mansur said. “The integrity of saying the right thing, doing the right thing, challenging each other and have the courage to say negative things. I think it’s really helped us become a better team and go through the tough moments on the court together.”
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
