Last season did not end in triumph or success for the Hofstra volleyball team, but rather heartbreak and disappointment as they saw their season come to a halting stop.

Tears ran down the players’ faces as they knew their chance to be back-to-back Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) champions slipped away after the No. 6 University of Delaware had a comeback win against the Pride on their home court during the CAA Tournament.

After their season ended, the returning players and coaches looked forward to the 2020 season as they hoped to turn their luck around and make another run at the CAA Championship.

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, the Pride does not know when they will get to play again, but head coach Emily Mansur won’t take any match for granted, no matter if it is the first match of the season or the NCAA Tournament.

“This was definitely a learning factor for all of us. We don’t know what the future will bring, so every time we get on the court, we are like ‘Hey, let’s really value it because we just don’t know [about] tomorrow,’” Mansur said.

Senior captain Ana Martinovic says she wants to relive the feeling from their 2018 championship again. “It was amazing. It is one of those feelings you can’t really explain in words,” Martinovic said, “I always think about that every game when I start playing, I want it again.”

The Pride will look to make another run at the CAA championship and NCAA tournament, but this season, without two of the team’s staples.

Former senior captains Luisa Sydlik and Laura Masciullo broke records and racked up numerous awards during their four seasons in the Pride uniform. Masciullo finished her career ranked second all-time in kills at Hofstra with 1,739 and Sydlik ended her time at Hofstra ranked second all-time in assists with 4,426.

“We are going to miss them, there is no question. They brought so many wonderful things to our program but if we as coaches do our job, we are going to get the next two stars,” Mansur said. “The goal is every time a big player leaves, we help someone foster and become that. We are looking forward to seeing who the next stars are. We are going to miss them, we are thankful for them but it’s the time for someone else and other players to just step up.” 

While Mansur normally names two players as team captains, but for now she has only named Martinovic as captain.

“Everyone besides [Martinovic] went home. [She] was really afraid as her senior year was coming, to take the chance and go home and not knowing the future, so she decided to stay and it is one of the big reasons why she is one of our captains now, it’s just how much of a sacrifice she made,” Mansur said. “Ana is doing a wonderful job leading and we are excited to see what Ana’s era as a captain here is going to bring.”

While it was a tough decision for Martinovic to stay in the U.S., she is happy with her choice.

“When we started going online [in the spring], I stayed on campus. This was [my] first summer I stayed in the United States, usually I go home. I have a good friend living in Connecticut, so I stayed with her for about two and a half months and I loved it,” Martinovic added.

As Martinovic spent her first full year in the United States, her summer was different than most but she still had her team to spend time with.

Martinovic and the team were constantly working out together, doing offseason workouts given by their strength and conditioning coaches, which brought the team together even when they were miles apart.

“The good thing with my team is we do a lot of things together, so we would usually all get on Zoom together and follow the program … it was great, throughout the whole summer we would connect over Zoom and have workouts, so it’s kind of together but it is not, so it was good since we still stuck together,” Martinovic said.

Besides the workouts over the summer, the girls also had downtime together to build their friendships.

 “We had a few movie parties, obviously over Zoom, from time to time we would talk with the coaches but we also had our own team parties which were really fun because every party would have different topics,” Martinovic said. “For example, everyone would share pictures from their childhood or them doing something crazy and we would laugh a lot, so it was really a lot of fun.”

Mansur is happy that the team is still working to build team camaraderie in spite of the limitations of the current situation. 

“I think right now this is the only thing that we can get better, so if we really buy in, if the team really takes this responsibility, this is going to help once we get back on the court,” Mansur said.

Even though the team is back on campus, they are itching to get on the court and play their favorite sport. Hofstra Athletics hopes to allow the fall teams to have their seasons during the spring season as long as it is safe for the players and coaches.

“We hope it’s going to be in the spring. We are very positive, we are making our plans and our goals based on [having] the season in the spring,” Mansur said. “Right now, until things get better, we just don’t know what the future brings but the goal and the expectation and everything that we are working toward right now is to get a chance to play in the spring.”

Mansur misses being on the court with her team, but knows it’s been months since the girls have played volleyball together and it will take some time for everyone to get back into the swing of things.

“I think once we start back we have to be very slow, just to be cautious about their bodies because they haven’t played volleyball in so long. I think a lot of them haven’t been this long without playing since they started playing volleyball,” Mansur said. “I think it is an adjustment for me as a coach and our whole coaching staff because we love to get in and get a lot of hard work but we just have to be a lot more mindful … we really can’t wait to do something with them.”

Martinovic is looking forward to this season as it is possibly her last season in a Pride uniform, depending on what happens in the spring – In August 2020, the NCAA granted fall athletes an additional year of eligibility, leaving many seniors considering their options.

“It means a lot that my senior year is not just cancelled. Being a senior, you always want to finish the best way possible. It is a weird last season but if I just think about myself, it’s selfish, so I haven’t really thought about it much,” Martinovic said. “I am just thinking about getting the team together, going back to our normal activities and hopefully starting soon.”

This season, unlike last season, Mansur isn’t going to put a lot of pressure on the team
to win another championship ring. Instead, she wants to take it match by match.

“It’s a big thing for us, match by match, because every match is a new opportunity. I think last year, me as the head coach of this program with the wonderful coaching staff I had, we really learned a lot about us, about our team,” Mansur said. “We felt the pressure of, ‘Hey let’s win again, it’s at home and get this opportunity to do this in front of the people we love, that love to come watch us play.’ So that was a very tough thing and I just think we are going to get to mature and learn how to handle the high expectations that we have in a better way.”

Martinovic has a little different mindset than her coach.

“When I think about senior year, I think about a ring, that’s it. [The] only way I would like to end my college career [is] with a ring. It leaves that feeling of fulfillment. It’s just about the ring,” Martinovic said.

“I love that she wants to win. I think if you don’t have that desire and you don’t have that goal of, ‘Hey I want to become this,’ it’s really hard to achieve. So I love that it’s clear on what we want to achieve,” Mansur said. “We have been seeing that Ana is putting in a lot of work to help us get that. She is the coach right now because we can’t be around them and she is really stepping up with the help of other players.”

Last season, the Pride added several new players to the team including Madeline Matheny, Athina Dimitriadis, Luz Divina Nuñez Sierra, Juliana Vaz and others. They each had a major role to play on the team and brought much-needed height to the front of the net.

“It was definitely a big switch in the team, it was different and when you have a lot of new players, you need some time to adjust, but I think at this point, that specific generation is the future of Hofstra,” Martinovic said. “I think it is very beneficial to have them here, it was new [and] it was different, but I think it was great because now it’s a generation that can bring a lot to Hofstra.”

Last season, the team lost three graduating seniors and have some key holes to fill on their roster. This season, Mansur added four new players to the roster.

“It’s been a long time since I have seen them all play. We are excited,” Mansur said.

“Bianca Bucciarelli is coming from Italy and we expect her to play a big role from the beginning. [She’s] a very similar player to Laura Masciullo, she understands the shoes she has to fill and fight for that position,” Mansur said. “We have Damla Tokman who is coming from Turkey. She is actually still in Turkey right now trying to figure out a way to get here. She is a middle blocker, I think she is going to get in and be competing for a starting spot from the moment that she gets here.” 

“Mackenzie Jefferson is a setter from Texas, and we are super excited to have her here with us, she is going to be competing for the starting role as setter,” Mansur added.

The Pride will also be without Assistant Coach Brian Toron this season. Toron oversaw all of the team’s recruiting efforts as well as several other things on and off the court.

“Oh man, I miss Brian, there is no question. I am so excited for him, he took the next step in his career and it’s a wonderful opportunity,” Mansur said.

“He was cool. I would say he was a lot about stats and the background of the game and the teams we were facing. He had a great work ethic and he was an example of a hard worker, so obviously we will miss him. He has been here for two years, so stepping on the court without him will be different but as I said you have to go forward, we will miss him, that’s for sure, but we will adjust,” Martinovic added.

Martinovic and the Pride are ready to start practicing and get back on the court as they look to earn another CAA ring.

“I think this team has a good work ethic. Thinking about it now, everyone was really engaged all summer. No one was lacking or anything, it’s a big sign we are ready, we are mentally ready to work and give everything we have,” Martinovic said. “I think it’s possible to win the CAA, I really do.”

Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics