On Saturday, Oct. 12, the Hofstra University volleyball team defeated Northeastern University at the David S. Mack Physical Education Center in a 3-0 sweep. The Pride took the two-match series against the Huskies, extending their win streak to seven. Hofstra is 11-6 on the season and 7-1 in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) matches. The Huskies are now 5-3 in conference play.
Hofstra’s offense dominated, with 46 kills. Clara Bal, Constanza Perez Sain, and Izadora Stedile had 12, 11 and 10 kills, respectively. The Pride also battled on the defensive side, putting up 61 digs. Stedile led the pack with 18.
“I think our offense is getting smarter, which helps because the blockers are doing all they can do, and they are big,” said Hofstra head coach Emily Mansur. “But we went around [the blockers], and I think that was a big difference.”
Hofstra displayed their offensive intelligence in set one after struggling right out of the gate. They quickly fell behind, but they showed their resilience. When down 3-0 to start, Bal got the Pride going with a kill. Hofstra then fell to 6-1 due to errors. They bounced back with kills from Perez Sain and Stedile. However, Northeastern’s offense stood strong, Georgia Stavrinides and Millie Loehr had two kills apiece in the middle of the set to widen the Huskies’ lead.
Hofstra did not let up and went on a seven-point run, which began with two kills from Iyanna Garvin. The Pride found themselves within a few points of the Huskies again. They used this momentum to carry them through the close set and pull out a 25-20 win.
Set two also kept both teams on the edge of their seats. Early, the Huskies pulled ahead with the lead. Hofstra made up for their deficit, taking the lead on a kill from Perez Sain. Hofstra took off from there, winning set two 25-18.
Excitement filled the gym in set three, with four lead changes and nine tied scores.
“It’s all a part of volleyball,” Mansur said. “This excitement at the end, we don’t like it as a team especially when you are up, but it’s keeping the composure and understating it’s a part of the game.”
Hofstra capitalized on this in the final nail-biting set. Down to the last few plays, it looked to be anyone’s game. With the score tied at 24, the Pride pulled ahead by one on an ace from Chiara Cucco. Northeastern matched this with a kill from Loehr. By the end, Hofstra was able to close it out with two kills from Perez Sain, winning 27-25.
With this win, Hofstra is tied with the College of Charleston for first place in the CAA. Next weekend, the Pride take a road trip to UNC-Wilmington for a two-match series and look to keep this momentum going. Match time is set for Saturday, Oct. 19. at 4 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Ethan Albin
