The Hofstra volleyball team defeated the University of Delaware in four sets on Saturday, Oct. 2, at the Carpenter Sports Building, with set scores of 27-25, 25-22, 20-25 and 25-20. The Pride was led by Ana Martinovic and Athina Dimitriadis, who each racked up 10 kills in the match.
The win improved Hofstra’s record to 9-7 overall on the season and 3-2 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play. Delaware continued their struggles and dropped their eighth consecutive match.
Hofstra struggled out of the gate in set one, going back and forth with the Blue Hens several times, but they came away in the end for a close 27-25 victory. The Pride allowed Delaware to go up by three points multiple times throughout the set, but they rallied back each time and prevented the Blue Hens from breaking away.
Hofstra’s biggest scoring run was only two points, which they did seven times, but the defense was stellar and prevented Delaware from going on large runs of their own. After Martinovic gave the Pride set point at 26-25, an attack error from the Blue Hens’ Savannah Seemans put Hofstra ahead 1-0.
Hofstra continued the momentum into the second set and won another closely contested battle 25-22. Both defenses were strong once again and prevented each other from breaking free, but Hofstra finally caught fire in the end. After Delaware scored five consecutive points to take a two-point lead, Hofstra responded with a 4-0 run of their own to go back in front.
At 24-22, another costly error from the Blue Hens cost them a set, putting Hofstra up 2-0 in the match. This one was committed by Lauryn Richardson, with Martinovic and Damla Tokman recording blocks on the play to help Hofstra win the set.
Delaware avoided the sweep by defeating the Pride 25-20 in the third set, fueled by four kills from Richardson and three from Seemans. The Blue Hens started off strong and controlled for much of the set both offensively and defensively while preventing Hofstra from taking the lead at all.
After trailing by seven points early on, the Pride fought back to within one several times but just couldn’t get over the hump and take back control. With the score at 21-20 in favor of Delaware, the Blue Hens won the next four points to make it a 2-1 match.
Delaware failed to carry the momentum and replicate their epic 2-0 comeback that they completed in the 2019 CAA tournament against Hofstra and dropped the fourth set by a score of 25-20.
Hofstra played its best volleyball of the match in this one, as they erased an 11-8 Delaware lead and took that momentum all the way to the end. Once they went back in front, the Pride won three consecutive points four times and prevented the Blue Hens from fighting back in it.
At match point, Florencia Wolkowyski finished it off with her ninth kill and gave the Pride its ninth win of the season.
Following the weekend trip to Delaware, Hofstra will return home to the David S. Mack Physical Education Center on Saturday, Oct. 9, and Sunday, Oct. 10, to take on the College of William & Mary at 1 p.m.
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