Coming off a dominating 3-0 victory at Stony Brook University three days prior, the Hofstra volleyball team stayed hot and earned its second straight sweep and third straight win on Friday, Sept. 10, taking down Cleveland State University’s Vikings.
The Pride got great contributions from its freshmen once again, as Florencia Wolkowyski led the team with 11 kills, Beatriz Alves led with 27 assists and Chiara Cucco led with 18 digs.
Hofstra built up a large lead to begin the first set and held on in the end after a Vikings comeback attempt to win 25-23.
An attack error from Vikings’ outside hitter Madalynn Butler put the Pride in front by a match-high eight points at 12-4. However later in the set, Cleveland State rallied back with a 7-1 scoring run to make it a one-point match at 21-20. Chelsea Penfield racked up three service aces during their run to bring the Vikings back in the match.
Despite the comeback efforts from Cleveland State, Hofstra never relinquished the lead and held on for a close first-set victory. At set point, London Portis committed an error that gave the Pride a 1-0 lead in the match.
Hofstra and Cleveland State battled closely to begin the second set, but the Pride broke away in the end, including taking the last five points to win 25-18.
Hofstra looked like it was gaining momentum after two aces from Maddie Appleton and a kill from Ana Martinovic completed a brief 4-0 run and put the Pride ahead 14-10.
However, the Vikings responded with a 6-2 tear thanks to three Hofstra errors and tied the set for the seventh time.
With Hofstra in front by two at 20-18, the Pride exploded to win the final five points of the set powered by three straight kills from Wolkowyski.
Hofstra closed out the match and completed the sweep with another strong performance in the third set, winning 25-21.
Cleveland State controlled early on as their defense forced three attack errors from the Pride en route to a 5-0 run and a 9-5 lead. However, Hofstra responded just a few minutes later and turned a 12-9 deficit into a 14-12 lead.
The Pride never looked back from there after taking the lead. Hofstra completed the sweep with a service ace from Appleton and improved its record to 6-3 this season.
Behind Wolkowyski’s team-leading 11 kills, Athina Dimitriadis and Bianca Bucciarelli followed with seven each, while Ana Martinovic and Damla Tokman each finished with five.
For Cleveland State, junior outside hitter Chelsea Penfield led the team with nine kills, while sophomore Abby Miller racked up 19 assists and junior Audrey McConihe totaled 12 digs. The loss dropped the Vikings’ record to 2-6 this season.
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
