With a conference championship comes great responsibility and the opportunity to face off against some of the best. This weekend, teams from across the country will travel to the David S. Mack Physical Education Building to square off against the Hofstra volleyball team at the 2019 Hofstra Invitational. No. 10 ranked University of Oregon, Duke University, St. John’s University and Hofstra University will all collide in an exciting weekend of incredible volleyball.
“We are lucky to be able to host [the] tournament,” said Hofstra head coach Emily Mansur. “Our biggest goal is to of course win everything that we play, but I think the goal is to compete and hold our own against the top of top.”
Making a nearly 3,000-mile journey to the invitational are the Oregon Ducks from the Pacific Athletic Conference 12 (PAC 12). Ranked No. 10 in the nation, the Ducks will be the second top-10 team the Pride faces this season along with Pennsylvania State University. Hofstra and Oregon both saw the same fate in the 2018 NCAA Tournament as they were both swept by the University of Nebraska, Hofstra in the first round and Oregon in the Elite 8.
After falling to 2-3 on the season, the Ducks will be on the road Tuesday, Sept. 17, against Princeton University as they look to snap a three-match losing streak – all of which were losses to top team teams. Following Princeton, the Ducks will make a short trip over to Hofstra where they will face St. John’s on Thursday, Sept. 19, and Duke and Hofstra on Friday, Sept. 20.
“Oregon right now is top 10 in the country,” Mansur said. “Being able to have a good competitive match is really what our goal is.”
Representing the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), the Duke Blue Devils are entering the invitational at a 5-5 mark on the season and riding a three-match losing streak. Along with Oregon and Hofstra, Duke made the NCAA Tournament a season ago but was swept by Loyola Marymount University in the first round.
“Duke is a great team and a great school,” Mansur said. “That’s one we are going to go in looking to steal a win out of the tournament.”
Duke will face Oregon on Friday, and then end with St. John’s and Hofstra on Saturday. Duke will be looking to bounce back over the .500 mark at the invitational and build momentum before heading into ACC play the following week.
St. John’s will head back to Hempstead for the second straight week to compete against Oregon and Duke. St. John’s was the only team of the four to not qualify for the NCAA Tournament after being knocked out of the Big East Tournament by Marquette University. The Red Storm did qualify for the NIVC Tournament but was knocked out in the first round by the College of Charleston.
Following the five-set loss to the Pride, St. John’s travelled to Florida for the Home2Suites Tallahassee Seminole Invitational, taking the opening two matches against Stony Brook University and Florida A&M University before falling to Florida State University. The Red Storm enter the invitational at 6-5 winning six of their last eight matches.
Arguably the hottest team coming into the invitational happens to be the host team, Hofstra. After going 25-8 last season and being crowned champions of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), Hofstra saw their NCAA Tournament experience end short after being swept by runner-up of the tournament, Nebraska.
“This weekend is about us being ready for the CAA,” Mansur said. “It is two great teams that play the highest level everyday but we need to focus on the things we need for us as a team thinking of the week ahead because that’s when business starts.”
The Pride rolls into their invite with a 7-3 record and a five-match win streak. The Pride has seen their share of top-ranked opponents as they opened the season with then-ranked No. 6 Penn State. The Pride will take another crack at a top 10 team on Friday when they face Oregon.
“It has to be about Hofstra, they have their strengths and we’re not going to change that,” Mansur said. “There’s a big tempo difference compared to last week so we need to keep guiding the ladies to play high and go back to the mindset of when we played Penn State.”
The Pride ends the invitational Saturday night against the Duke Blue Devils.
“Anything can happen if we play the best volleyball that we can. It can be a great match and the best team will win that day,” Mansur said. “I think [Duke] is more comparable to the [very] top of our conference so I’m looking forward to the match.”
The Hofstra Invitational kicks off Thursday night at 7 p.m. as St. John’s takes on No. 10 Oregon. Friday’s schedule consists of Duke and Oregon at 1 p.m. followed by Oregon and Hofstra at 7 p.m. To close out the invitational, St. John’s will take on Duke at 12 p.m., with the closing match being Duke and Hofstra at 7 p.m.
The Pride is looking forward to the challenge this weekend as they prepare for the CAA and potentially the NCAA Tournament this season.
“I’m looking for us to play better volleyball and to continue to improve as a team with new student-athletes taking lead and new people embracing play of this level so when we win our conference and get to the NCAA first round we are more prepared for a team like Nebraska,” Mansur said. “This has been our goal the whole time, being exposed to the best volleyball in the country that we can so when we make the first round we are not shocked by the level.”
Image courtesy of Anthony Roberts
