A comeback late in the fourth set extended the Hofstra volleyball team’s winning streak to 11 in their match against the University of Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens on Saturday, Oct. 22. The Pride’s 3-1 victory lifts their season record to 14-8 and 11-0 in conference.
“Good effort from both teams; it was a nice [Colonial Athletic Association] match,” said Hofstra head volleyball coach Emily Mansur.
The Pride came into the first set confident thanks to senior outside hitter Zyare Abdul-Rahim’s opening kill. The game plan looked simple: strategic offensive plays and aggressive defense on the home side of the net. With that, Delaware played catch-up until Hofstra amounted such a lead that they simply fell behind and stayed behind. Hofstra opened the day on a high note, finishing the first set 25-17.
The Blue Hens used the second set to showcase their ability to course correct, opening the match with four kills for a quick lead. Delaware’s scoring didn’t stay consistent, as the Pride benefited from several attack and service errors. That revived Hofstra’s spirit, displayed by junior outside hitter Yagmur Cinel’s onslaught of eight points, including the final point of the set for a 2-0 set lead. The buzzer sounded with Hofstra leading 25-21.
The Pride got off on the wrong foot in the third set and simply could not recover as Delaware’s Lani Mason capitalized on this opportunity for the Blue Hens. She got the first kill of the set and claimed two more later on, but what really added to the 14-25 defeat was repeat offense errors. Freshman outside hitter Izadora Stedile recorded three errors, Cinel had two and freshman outside hitter Clara Bal had a service error. The Pride was also not able to compensate on the offensive end, as the Blue Hens out-did them in kills 14-10 in the set.
The air was tense in the fourth set as both teams tied at 20. Eileen Gex’s service error gave Hofstra hope, but Lauryn Richardson put a stop to that with a service kill just seconds later.
To add insult to injury, Stedile’s service error put Delaware past the Pride by a single point, and Mason followed up with a kill to make it a two-point game. The ball found its way to Bal who secured the 22nd point, and Abdul-Rahim added a thunderous dunk of her own to tie the game once again at 23. Senior middle blocker Sarah Pierre seized an opening by landing a kill to reclaim the lead with the set point.
The final finishing touch came from Abdul-Rahim similarly to how she opened the scoring in the first set: with a slam dunk of a kill.
“It’s really cool to see [Abdul-Rahim] just growing and having the ability to take charge at the end of the game,” Mansur said. “It’s one of the things that was so big for her this year to develop, so it was just wonderful to see.”
Hofstra’s next appearance will be on Sunday, Oct. 23, at 1 p.m. for the second half of the tournament against the Blue Hens in the David S. Mack Physical Education Center.
Photo courtesy of Evan Bernstein/Hofstra Athletics
