By Jeff Werner -- STAFF WRITER The Hofstra Pride volleyball team needed all five sets but was able to hold on and beat the College of William & Mary. This was their fifth straight win on Saturday night, at the David S. Mack Physical Education Center.
Hofstra took the first two sets with 25-16 and 25-20. William & Mary rallied and won the third and fourth set 25-20 and 25-18, forcing a tiebreaking fifth set. The Pride regained momentum and took the final set at 15-8. Head coach Emily Mansur took the win, but she isn’t satisfied with her team’s performance.
“As a team, we didn’t play the best volleyball that we know how to play, but I’m glad we won in the end,” Mansur said.
Laura Masciullo and Ivania Ortiz led Hofstra offensively. Masciullo had 19 kills, while the freshman Ortiz added 17 kills of her own.
“Laura and Ivania just did a really good job,” Mansur said. “They took a lot of approach, more than we wanted to, but they carried us tonight.”
Helping set up their attacks was Luisa Sydlik, who had 52 assists in the match.
“Luisa works hard every game,” Mansur said. “She may not play the best match. She struggled a little bit to set up our middles today, but she works really, really hard and that’s important in a setting role.”
Caylie Denham was given the libero jersey for the game and made a big impact on defense, leading Hofstra in digs with 21 in the match.
Mansur recognized there were a lot of things her team needed to work on going forward. “We just got to think about what was as we come to practice tomorrow and think about our game and the things that we need to change in order to pick up the win,” Mansur said.
The Pride started their efforts to raise breast cancer awareness by wearing pink socks and pink hair ties in the game. Prior to the game, fans in attendance were given pink Hofstra hats.
The Hofstra volleyball team hits the court next in a Monday night matchup with James Madison University on Oct. 9, at the Physical Education Center.