HEMPSTEAD, NY — The Pride volleyball team completed its second straight sweep on Friday, Oct. 11, as they defeated the College of Charleston 25-23, 25-15, 25-15. Hofstra improved their record to 10-7 on the season while also improving to 3-2 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play. Charleston has now dropped six out of their last seven matches.
Before cruising through sets two and three, the Pride struggled early on in set one and found themselves in an early 3-1 hole. They quickly responded, however, and used a pair of 4-0 runs to take a 9-5 lead. Laura Masciullo led the way with three kills and a service ace. The lead did not last long for the Pride as the Cougars won nine out of the next 12 rallies to put themselves up 14-13. With Hofstra leading 24-23, an attack error by Lauren Freed of Charleston sealed the win for the Pride to give them a 1-0 lead in the match.
Hofstra looked like a completely different team in set two and dominated the whole way. They took a quick 5-1 lead over the Cougars before going on an incredible 11-3 tear to take their largest lead of the night at 21-11. Luisa Sydlik fueled the way for the Pride as she recorded a kill and three straight service aces during their impressive run, and also totaled 12 assists in the set. Charleston did not recover and was finished off by a kill by Ana Martinovic en route to a 25-15 loss.
The Pride continued their control over Charleston into the third set as they completed the sweep with a 25-15 win. Charleston kept it close early on, as the Cougars and Pride both traded the first 10 points of the set. After a service ace by Mandy Napierala put Charleston ahead 11-10, Hofstra began to break away. The Pride took control with a 7-0 run led by Masciullo, who tallied three kills, and Juliana Vaz, who notched two service aces. Later on, another 5-1 tear put them up by 10 again as they cruised to their second straight CAA victory.
The Pride was led by Masciullo (15 kills), Martinovic (13 kills) and Sydlik (37 assists). For the Cougars, Napierala, Claire Campbell and Freed each had eight kills, while Tori Carpenter recorded 28 assists.
“It’s really nice to see a team effort and to see everyone that’s playing and not playing engaged and working together to help make us better,” said Hofstra head coach Emily Mansur. “For me as a coach, there is nothing I can ask for more than the contribution from every single person.”
After struggling during the Hofstra Invitational, Masciullo has come back to life since the start of CAA play, leading the Pride in kills in each of their first five matches.
“She’s working really hard and she’ll continue to get better at different positions that she is playing, which makes a huge difference for her,” Mansur said. “She’s back to her old self which is beautiful.”
The key for the victory was the way the Pride took control in sets two and three after a hard-fought battle in the first set.
“College of Charleston is a good team and they competed really hard,” Mansur said. “Our leaders really focused on us being better tonight.”
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
