The Hofstra University volleyball team had their first Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) win of the season in a 3-1 victory over the Stony Brook University Seawolves on Saturday, Sept. 21.
“It’s really nice to win against a good Stony Brook team,” said Hofstra head coach Emily Mansur. “Especially after the night before, but the team responded really well. We made some lineup changes and everyone who went in stepped up and wanted to make it happen and they did.”
With the win, Hofstra moves to 5-6 on the season and a 1-1 CAA record. The Seawolves also remain 1-1 in the CAA while moving to an 8-3 overall record.
Clara Bal continues her impressive stretch of games for the Pride. Bal had 14 kills in the match while Constanza Perez Sain led the team with 17.
“We won having them play,” Mansur said. “Playing at the level that they did, it was good because Izadora [Stedile] has been carrying us this season, so having those two stepping up had made a big difference.”
Freshman Ellie Pamatat also continues to impress with 45 assists in the match. “I love [Pamatat],” Mansur said. “She just works super hard and is a nice stable player and she goes all out.”
As far as sets go, Hofstra came from behind the eight ball quickly in the first set, losing a tight first set 25-18 as a six-point rally for Stony Brook made the difference between the two teams.
From that point forward, Hofstra dominated the court for the next three sets. In set two, Hofstra had a seven-point rally of their own that separated them from the Seawolves in a 25-21 set win. That set proved to be the turning point as sets three and four played out the same way with Hofstra winning 25-17 and 25-14.
Except for some injuries so far this season, the Pride has been handling itself well to start off the year. “We are missing some pieces, but they believed they could win and we did, so that was cool to see,” Mansur said.
Hofstra will now head back to Hempstead for their second CAA matchup against Hampton University starting on Friday, Sept. 27. The match starts at 6 p.m.
“We just got to look at what we did well, maintain and sustain that and continue to make our bad moments look better,” Mansur said. “We are going to achieve what we want.”
Photo courtesy of Amelia Bashy
