Pride defeats Army in five sets

The Hofstra University volleyball team snapped a four-game losing streak and opened the 2024 Black Knights Invitational at West Point, New York, with a 3-2 victory over the United States Military Academy on Friday, Sept. 13.

Hofstra scored the first point of the match with a kill by Izadora Stedile, but the Pride did not take a further lead until an error from Army’s Juliette Myrick gave Hofstra a 5-4 advantage. No more than five points separated the Pride and the Black Knights during the entire first set. A four-point streak by Army, including two consecutive aces from Norah Shattan, gave the Black Knights their largest lead at 19-14. Army won the first set 25-22 on a service error from Ellie Pamatat.

Once again in the second set, the Pride earned the first point of the set, this time from a kill by Clara Bal on a Pamatat assist. Hofstra and Army alternated a one or two-point lead for much of the set, but an ace from Beatriz Braga tied the set 16-16 and the Pride held the lead for the remainder of the set. Five of Hofstra’s remaining points came from kills, including two from Stedile and the set-winning kill by Braga to give the Pride a 25-22 second-set win.

The Pride did not earn the first point of the third set, but a kill from Emilly Nunes made Hofstra’s losing streak disappear. From there, Hofstra held as large as a seven-point lead. In one five-point streak for the Pride, Braga recorded three consecutive kills while all five points were assisted by Pamatat. Braga made 10 kills in the third set alone while Bal and Stedile earned seven and five kills, respectively. Upon the 23-23 mark, the Pride and Black Knights alternated the lead until the Pride scored consecutive points on a Stedile kill and an error from Army’s Mackenzie Lynch to put Hofstra up 31-29.

Hofstra and Army also alternated a one or two-point lead to begin the fourth set, but the Black Knights ran away with the lead after Constanza Perez Sain recorded an error. Up by as many as six points, Army took a 25-18 victory in the fourth set, forcing the match to a fifth shorter set. The Pride recorded 10 errors in the fourth set as well as a bad set from Pamatat.

Just like in the first four sets, Hofstra proved they were an even opponent for Army, rotating who held the lead at any given point. When both teams held single-digit scores, the lead changed every two or three points. However, once the score reached 10-10 on a Bal error, the Pride recorded the last five consecutive points. Bal and Braga each earned a kill while the remaining three points came off Army errors. Hofstra took the game with a final set score of 15-10.

With Beatriz Alves sitting out, Pamatat is Hofstra’s new assist leader, recording 51 assists against the Black Knights. Chiara Cucco led all players in the match with 24 digs and Braga earned her second double-double of the season with 23 kills and 14 digs.

The Pride continued their time at West Point the next day with a matchup against Bryant University on Saturday, Sept. 14.

Photo courtesy of Amelia Bashy