The Hofstra Pride volleyball team was defeated by the James Madison University Dukes on Sunday, Oct. 20, falling in straight sets, 25-19, 25-18, 25-17.
The loss snapped Hofstra’s four-match winning streak, bringing them to 12-8 overall and 5-3 in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). Meanwhile, James Madison won its fourth match in a row and improved to 12-6 on the season and 6-2 in CAA play to move into sole possession of second place in the conference standings ahead of the Pride.
Senior Laura Masciullo had a match-high 14 kills, notching her eighth straight contest reaching double-digit kills for the Pride. She has reached that mark in all but three matches this season and is in the top three in the CAA in both kills and kills per set. Masciullo, who has now led the team in kills in 17 matches this season, had a .226 attack percentage and added six digs in the contest. She also now ranks No. 8 among NCAA Division I active kill leaders with 1,580 putdowns.
Fellow senior Luisa Sydlik contributed 22 assists of her own, and though it tied for her second-lowest total of the season, she maintained her 85-match streak of at least 20 kills. She has not failed to reach 20 assists since Nov. 8, 2016, against Towson University, and she is in the top two in the CAA in both assists and assists per set.
Hofstra’s opening set was their strongest as they were within striking distance, 20-18, before the Dukes pulled away. The Pride also hit .143 in the opening frame, their best of the match, but the figure was outdone in each set by James Madison. The Pride’s hit percentage for the match was .087, while James Madison’s was more than triple that at .296.
The Hofstra hit percentage is No. 5 in the CAA on the season, despite being in the top three in assists and kills. The Pride committed 24 errors, compared to just 11 for JMU.
For JMU, freshman Sophia Davis, top 10 in the CAA in kills, had seven on the afternoon and senior Sarah Martin had 24 of her team’s 28 assists on the day.
Hofstra junior Ana Martinovic added seven kills of her own, a .158 attack percentage, and Pride junior Sanne Maring tallied four of Hofstra’s 10 block assists, her season best and the Pride’s best on the afternoon.
Hofstra still leads the all-time series between the two schools 26-17.
The Pride return to action on Thursday, Oct. 24, when they host the Phoenix of Elon University at the David S. Mack Physical Education Center. The match is set for 7 p.m.
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
