Beatriz Alves’s career high in kills was not enough for the Hofstra volleyball team to beat Syracuse University as they lost 3-1 in four sets on Friday, Sept. 9, in Syracuse, New York. The set scores were 21-25, 16-25, 25-19 and 17-25. The loss drops the Pride’s record to 3-6, while the Syracuse Orange now sit at an even 4-4.
Alves was all over the stat sheet, as she led the team in aces and blocks, and dominated in assists with 25 – 19 more than any other Hofstra player.
The first set seemed to be an even stanza, with both teams exchanging 3-0 runs before Syracuse scored five consecutive points to take a late lead. Four attack errors from the Pride and a kill by the Orange’s Bre Walp put Hofstra in a two-point deficit, down 22-19. Hofstra scored two more points before a 3-0 run clinched the first set for Syracuse.
The second set was all Orange, as they went on a quick 4-0 run that Hofstra did not recover from. Polina Shemanova, Viktoriia Lokhmanchuk and Bre Walp led the charge with multiple kills throughout the set. Whenever the Pride got one point, Syracuse responded with two or three of their own. Up 22-16, Lauren Woodford and Lokhmanchuk got back-to-back kills, and Raina Hughes followed with a block to clinch the second set and move up to 2-0 on the match.
Hofstra countered strong in the third set as they went on three separate 3-0 runs. Everyone on the Pride contributed, as Sarah Pierre, Clara Bal, Zyare Abdul-Rahim and Alves all had multiple kills. Alves assisted on eight of the 25 points Hofstra had in the set – the most of any player.
The fourth set was once again dominated by Syracuse, in which they scored four consecutive points on three different occasions. The first three points for the Orange were all kills from Naomi Franco, who finished with five in the stanza and ten in the match. Hofstra had a strong early response with a 4-0 run of their own that saw three kills from Izadora Stedile that were all assisted by Alves. The Pride stayed close until Syracuse went on another 4-0 run. The Orange followed with three more scores, putting the game out of reach for Hofstra.
Abdul-Rahim led Hofstra with 11 kills while Alves and Bal were close behind with 10 each. Bal, a freshman, has now recorded at least 10 kills in each of her last four games and is leading the team with 94 this season. Chiara Cucco led the team in digs with 14.
Hofstra will stay in Syracuse Saturday, Sept. 10, for a double header against Army West Point and Yale University starting at 10 a.m. before Colonial Athletic Association play begins on Saturday, Sept. 17, at Stony Brook University.
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
