Hofstra volleyball started the first game of their four-game road trip with a huge upset over the College of Charleston, winning the match three sets to one on Friday, Oct. 5.
After falling in the first set by a close score of 25-23, the Pride rebounded to take the next three sets, winning the second and fourth easily by scores of 25-16 and 25-17. The third was a different story; Hofstra barely got the edge in a hard-fought set, which the team ended up taking 29-27.
Hofstra’s fourth straight win improved their overall record to 14-5 and their record in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) action to 4-1. The win also snapped Charleston’s five match winning streak. Both teams are tied for second place in CAA play.
Ana Martinovic stepped up for the Pride both offensively and defensively. She tied her career high in kills with 10 on the day, and posted 11 digs to record her first double-double of the season.
Leading the offensive attack, however, was Aisha Skinner, who posted a match-high 18 kills, also adding two blocks and one ace. Skinner is only 38 kills behind her teammate and CAA leader in kills, Laura Masciullo, who sits in fifth place in the CAA.
Continuing her dominance, Masciullo added 12 kills in the match, positioning the CAA leader just one kill short of reaching 1,200 for her career. She has improved her double digit kill streak to 12 straight matches.
As is often the case, Luisa Sydlik put the team in a position to succeed. She totaled 53 assists, and like her teammate Masciullo, Sydlik also leads the CAA in an offensive category, totaling a staggering 830 assists in the season – almost 100 more than the second-place player.
Defensively, freshman Maddie Appleton had a match-high 23 digs, extending her team lead in the category to 264 in the season. Michela Rucli led the defensive charge above the net with a match-high eight blocks.
The Pride are now 6-9 all-time against Charleston, ending a three-match losing streak to the Cougars.
Next, Hofstra travels to Wilmington, North Carolina to take on UNCW for a 12 p.m. match on Sunday, Oct. 7. The Pride defeated UNCW in both of their meetings last year.
Photo courtesy of Cam Keough
