Hofstra volleyball earned a tough win at home on Thursday, Nov. 1, against the College of Charleston, defeating the Cougars three sets to two for their fourth consecutive victory. Set scores were 25-18, 24-26, 15-25, 25-22 and 15-5.
The Pride came out of the gate slow and used a timeout when they were down 8-3 to collect themselves in the first set.
“It’s about us. We have to get back to the foundation, believing that we can control the tempo of a lot of matches if we play how Hofstra volleyball can play,” said Hofstra head coach Emily Mansur. “I think we responded in a very good way.”
Hofstra came out of the timeout fired up, going on a 7-1 run and ultimately taking the first set. Aisha Skinner led the Pride’s offense, totaling a new career high of 23 kills.
“[Skinner] has been working on some different tactics and it’s starting to show,” Mansur said. “It is nice to see her getting used to the sets that we are giving her. She is getting used to being the go-to player at certain points.”
The second set was a nail biter the whole way, with both teams battling throughout. The College of Charleston not only took set number two, but dominated the third set as well, putting them in prime position to take a late-season conference win on the road.
“It’s two very competitive teams and we showcased that here tonight,” Mansur said. “It’s a match that everybody played really hard. It could have gone both ways, but we just played a little bit better at the end.”
The fourth set was another close one as Hofstra held off a late push by Charleston to force a fifth set. The revamped Hofstra team was led by the addition of Caylie Denham to the floor, who provided tremendous defensive support, finishing with five digs.
“[Denham] took us to a different level today,” Mansur said. “[She] got in there and played some left back, which is something she usually doesn’t play, and really dominated. She wanted it.”
The momentum from set number four carried over into the fifth set, where Hofstra was able to dominate and take the win from the Cougars.
Hofstra will look to use the momentum from this win to carry them into the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) conference tournament.
Three players reached double-digit kills for the Pride. Skinner tallied 23, while Laura Masciullo and Ana Martinovic had 18 and 10, respectively. Luisa Sydlik got a double-double, dishing out 54 assists and finishing with 16 digs.
Leading Charleston in kills was Kennedy Madison, while Allison Beckman fell just behind Sydlik’s game high with 48 assists of her own.
Up next, Hofstra will look to keep its winning streak alive as it stays at home to face UNC-Wilmington just two days later. The game is set for Saturday, Nov. 3, at 1 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
