The Hofstra University volleyball team swept North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T) in the final home match of the season on Sunday, Nov. 10. The Pride stays at the top of the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) with a record of 13-3.
The Pride celebrated their three seniors; Beatriz Alves, Chiara Cucco and Yagmur Cinel, all of whom played a key role in the victory over the Aggies. Alves had 25 assists on the day along with 12 digs. Cucco displayed her defensive prowess with 18 digs. She also put up seven assists. Cinel had 11 kills.
“It is bittersweet. I’m sad that I don’t get to coach them in a match here anymore, but [I am] really very optimistic that we can work together to get them an even better gift at the end of the season,” said Hofstra head coach Emily Mansur.
Constanza Perez Sain built on her impressive weekend, leading the Pride with 16 kills. She continued her strong serving, with three service aces across the match. In the series against the Aggies, Perez Sain combined for a total of eight service aces.
“She is getting better with every day. She’s getting used to what it is to play in our system.” Mansur said, “She was very good. It’s a good time to get very good.”
Izadora Stedile continued to make an impact for the Pride, she contributed nine kills and 14 digs across three sets.
The Pride played strong volleyball all around from the start of the match all the way to the end. Perez Sain and Stedile jumpstarted the Pride offense in the first set. Perez Sain served up two aces for the Pride, which put the Pride in front early. Hofstra was successful in keeping their lead due to their impressive defense. Emilly Nunes provided two blocks while Stedile and Alves added eight and seven digs, respectively. Hofstra used this momentum to finish the first set strong with a 25-19 victory.
Hofstra continued to find gaps in the second set, putting up a team total of 16 kills. The Pride started strong, finding themselves with a lead early on. However, the Aggies fought back, evening the set at seven. Hofstra pulled ahead though, capitalizing on errors from N.C. A&T, eventually going on a 6-0 run to pull away to a 20-11 lead, which turned into a 25-16 set win.
The Pride’s opportunistic offense dominated the final set with 20 kills, kicking it off with four straight kills to grab a 4-1 lead and never looking back. Hofstra’s defense held strong, limiting the Aggies’ offense to just 10 kills while the offense continued to perform. While the Aggies had a late 4-0 rally on a Hofstra set point, they could not complete the miracle comeback, as the Pride took the win on a kill from Cinel, advancing Hofstra to a 25-17 victory.
Hofstra heads to Maryland for their next series against Towson University, their final series of regular season play. The two teams will start their two-match set on Friday, Nov. 15. The match is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Photos courtesy of Ethan Albin
