The Hofstra volleyball team improved to 3-0 on the young season, defeating the Seton Hall University Pirates in five sets on Friday, Feb. 26, at Walsh Gymnasium in South Orange, NJ.
Sophomore outside hitter Madeline Matheny led the Pride with 14 kills and Maddie Appleton continued her strong play as the new lead setter, tallying 38 assists. The Pride won with set scores of 25-22, 24-26, 20-25, 25-22 and 16-14.
Matheny and fellow sophomore outside hitter Zyare Abdul-Rahim led the way for Hofstra in the first set, each recording five kills to help get their squad on the board first. The Pride and Pirates went back and forth for the majority of the first stanza, but Seton Hall began to break away with a 5-0 run late in the set. With the score at 19-16 in favor of Hofstra, the Pirates rallied to take a 21-19 lead.
Pride immediately responded and took back those five points with a big run of its own. At set-point, Matheny set the ball up to Ana Martinovic and she finished off the Pirates with her third kill.
Hofstra fell into a hole early in the second set as the Pirates took advantage of four errors made by the Pride to take a 6-2 lead.
Trailing 10-7, Hofstra fought back and took the lead after five consecutive points. The momentum quickly shifted back in Seton Hall’s favor though, as the Pirates went on another big run thanks in part to two straight attack errors by Martinovic.
Later in the set, Hofstra held a 22-19 lead, but Tsvetelina Ilieva’s kill to make it 22-20 started another huge scoring run by the Pirates and they went back in front. Emilee Turner’s kill evened the match at one.
The Pride dropped its second consecutive set, losing 25-20, and went down 2-1 in the match, but it rallied for two straight set wins of their own to win the match. In set four, Hofstra and Seton Hall exchanged points to begin the stanza, but the Pride regained its momentum and took a 16-11 lead.
Kills from Ilieva and Madison Frusha helped Seton Hall respond and make it a one-point match. The Pirates took a brief lead once again later in the set, but Hofstra took back control and won the set 25-22.
The Pride exploded in the fifth set and opened up an 8-2 lead. Its largest lead was 13-6, but just like they did all match long, Seton Hall used another big run to storm back and make it close. The two teams played tough and exchanged points up until the end, but Hofstra eventually pulled away and won the set 16-14.
In addition to Matheny’s 14 kills, Abdul-Rahim and Bianca Bucciarelli finished with 13, while Martinovic added 10.
The Pride will be back in action on Friday, March 5, to open up Colonial Athletic Association play against Northeastern University at home at 4 p.m.
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
