The Hofstra volleyball team shut out the College of William & Mary 3-0 in a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) matchup on Sunday, Oct. 10, at the David S. Mack Physical Education Center.
Ana Martinovic stole the show for the Pride, leading with 17 kills to go along with nine digs.
“[Martinovic] did a great job today of just managing the offense, managing the defense, and the expectations and behavior of the team,” said Hofstra associate head coach Hava Davis.
Hofstra began the first set on an 11-3 run before William & Mary called their first timeout. It looked like the set was going to be a runaway for the Pride, but William & Mary managed to cut it down to 23-19. Hofstra quickly sealed the deal following a timeout, winning the set 25-20.
Martinovic finished the set with five kills and five digs, while Athina Dimitriadis added four kills of her own. Dimitriadis finished the day with 11 kills.
“It was a really nice thing to see [Dimitriadis] working hard in transition, and the offensive part for her is just a big part of her game,” Davis said.
The second set had a similar theme to the first, as Hofstra once again got off to a red-hot start. They started out the set 15-5 before William & Mary cut it to 18-16. From there, the Pride didn’t look back as they took the second set 25-18, led by Martinovic with eight kills.
It looked like it would be an easy shutout for Hofstra, but William & Mary refused to go down without a fight. They jumped out to a 13-7 lead before Hofstra fought their way back to make it 16-15. The Pride tied it up at 19 and took the lead on the next point.
William & Mary still wasn’t finished, and they regained the lead, 23-22, before Hofstra called a timeout. That necessary timeout propelled the Pride to score the next three points and take the set 25-23, as well as the match.
“It was mostly just resetting ourselves mentally and getting back to playing good, disciplined volleyball,” Davis said.
Beatriz Alves tallied 36 assists which helped guide the Pride to victory.
Hofstra outpaced William & Mary in kills, aces, blocks, assists and digs. They also posted a hit percentage mark of .330, their highest of the season, which blew away William & Mary’s mark of .208.
This win took Hofstra to an overall record of 11-8, and 5-3 in CAA play. As for William & Mary, they fall to 3-8 and are still winless in six CAA matches.
The Pride will look to keep the momentum going when they visit the College of Charleston for their next match on Saturday, Oct. 16, at 1 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
