The Hofstra Pride volleyball team rallied from behind to defeat Stetson University in a five-set battle (22-25, 22-25, 25-18, 25-18, 15-10) on Saturday, Sept. 7 in their final match at the FIU Panther Fest. The Pride won the final three sets after dropping the first two.
Senior Laura Masciullo had another impressive performance with a season-high 26 kills to go along with seven digs. Freshman Athina Dimitriadis was terrific in arguably her best performance of the season with 13 kills behind a .706 attack percentage. Junior Juliana Vaz also added 13 kills while contributing a team-high 21 digs, recording her first double-double of the season.
The Pride fell behind early, dropping a close first set 22-25 as Stetson’s Brianna Schmid recorded four of her game-high seven blocks in just the first set. The Hatters would capture the second set with a 7-1 run to take the lead after falling behind 15-10 earlier in the set.
Although Hofstra held a 32-15 advantage in kills during the first two sets, 21 errors compared to Stetson’s five pushed the Pride into a two-set deficit.
Both teams traded points back and forth to start the third set as Hofstra looked for an opportunity to get themselves back into the contest. They found that opportunity in the form of a 6-2 run, with a stretch of three straight kills from Vaz, junior Dubravka Krakovic and Masciullo, giving the Pride a 16-11 lead. The extra breathing room was enough for the Pride to win their first set and reverse the momentum moving forward.
Masciullo and Krakovic would take over in the fourth set with five and four kills, respectively, as the Pride at times looked dominant, only committing two attack errors and cleaning up the mistakes that cost them the first two sets. Another 7-1 run gave Hofstra an 11-6 advantage before a 4-1 run to close out the set.
The Pride didn’t slow down, jumping out to a 5-1 lead in the fifth set, holding off the Hatters the rest of the way to take the set 15-10, completing an impressive comeback.
Senior Luisa Sydlik put on another fantastic showing, as last season’s Colonial Athletic Association Setter of the Year, leading all players with 54 assists to go with her 17 digs in her third double-double of the season.
Following her 26-kill performance, Masciullo is just four kills away from moving into fifth place all-time on the Hofstra career kills list.
Hofstra’s win on Saturday gives them a 3-3 record, ending their six-game road trip to kick off the season. Stetson falls to 1-3 following the loss.
Image courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
