The Hofstra volleyball team took a 1-0 series lead with a 3-1 win against the College of Charleston on Saturday, Oct. 8, increasing their win streak to seven games in a row. The Pride are now 10-8 overall and 7-0 in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).
“Every win is the first one, because that’s the mindset we have to have as a coaching staff to continue to get better,” said Hofstra head coach Emily Mansur. “Every match is good, and the more we improve the better it is.”
Yagmur Cinel achieved a career high in kills with 18 in the match, while Beatriz Alves recorded 47 assists to increase her conference leading total to 637 so far this season.
Charleston opened up the first set with a service ace from Emma Appleman.
After that first point the game went back and forth, with each team exchanging points all the way up to 6-6 after a kill by Clara Bal off an assist from Alves.
The Pride then had a three-point streak to go up 8-6, but that ended on a service error from Alves to make the score 8-7. The Cougars then took a two-point lead which the Pride quickly came back from and tied the game at 12 apiece with a service ace from the freshman Bal.
The scoring continued to be evenly matched until Hofstra closed out the set 25-21 with a kill by Izadora Stedile.
After a back-and-forth affair in the first set, the Cougars dominated the second, taking it 25-17 without Hofstra ever holding a lead. The Pride were unable to even tie the game at any point in this set.
Hoping to right the wrongs of the second set, Cinel gave the Pride the first point of the third set after a long back and forth volley. Two attack errors and a service error by the Cougars gave the Pride a 5-2 lead.
The Cougars challenged a kill from Zyare Abdul-Rahim that came from a bump from out of bounds in an attempt to erase the unique point off the board, but the call was upheld, giving Hofstra a 9-7 lead. A 5-2 run by Hofstra gave them an 18-11 lead, but a late comeback attempt by Charleston shortened the lead to 24-20, testing the resiliency of the Pride.
However, the attempted comeback was halted by a kill from Alves which outsmarted the opposing defense. Cinel then tacked on the decisive point of the set for Hofstra and won the third set for the Pride.
Stedile started the fourth and final set with three service aces that, along with a kill from Cinel, gave Hofstra a demanding 4-0 lead. The Cougars fought back and eventually tied the set at seven. The Pride ended the stalemate with three straight points to go up to 10-7, a lead they maintained throughout the rest of the set.
Hofstra led Charleston in assists, kills, blocks, digs and service aces.
The two teams will meet again on Sunday, Oct. 9, at 12 p.m. in the last game of the series, in which Hofstra will look for their eighth straight win and to remain undefeated in CAA play.
Photo courtesy of Bellmore Images/Hofstra Athletics
