Hofstra runs through the Black Knights Invitational

After cementing a three-game winning streak with a solid win against Stony Brook just a few days earlier, Hofstra volleyball was at it again at the Black Knights Invitational, where they went 3-0 without losing a single set the whole weekend.

The Pride started off their conquest against Southeastern Louisiana University, where they won by scores of 25-21, 25-12 and 25-20.

As has been common throughout the early season, freshman Aisha Skinner led the Pride with a career-high 13 kills, spearheading Hofstra’s powerful .363 to .084 attack percentage advantage.

Sophomore Ana Martinovic was also a big component for the Pride attack, reaching double digit kills for the first time this season with 10 – another career high.

Meanwhile, junior transfer Eliska Truneckova also made a strong impression, notching 10 assists in her first extended playing time for the Pride. That total was good for second best in the game, right behind Luisa Sydlik’s 26, which pushed the accomplished veteran into ninth place in Hofstra’s all-time assist leaderboard.

The next game versus the University of Albany was even less of a challenge for the Pride, who won the three sets by set scores of 25-18, 25-16 and 25-18.

Although Hofstra did not have the potent attack that it did in the first, finishing with a .259 attack percentage, they were able succeed by holding Albany to an extremely poor .033 effort.

Hofstra’s Michela Rucli finished with a game-high four blocks helping the Pride contain the Great Danes’ best attacker to 7 kills.

Freshman Maddie Appleton’s 10 digs added another game to her double-digit dig streak, while Sydlik and Skinner again finished with game highs in assists and kills, respectively, as Sydlik posted 32 in her department, while Skinner had 11 in her strong suit.

For the University of Albany, Kelly Cameron led the way with 19 assists and 12 digs, while Akuabata Okenwa added to the Great Dane effort with 7 kills.

In their third game of the series, the Pride were able to lock in their sixth consecutive win, again sweeping their opponent three sets to none and improving their overall record to 6-1.

Set scores were 26-24, 25-21 and 25-23.

Sydlik’s 28 assists and 13 digs marked her fifth double-double of the season, while Skinner’s nine kills tied Army’s Courtney Horace for the game high in that department.

Appleton again posted over 10 kills with 11, and Doris Bogoje posted an impressive six blocks, defending her way into being named the MVP of the tournament.

Though more contested than the first two games, Hofstra was ultimately able to prevail over Army mainly due to the Black Knights’ unprecedented errors, which totaled 24 –five more than Hofstra’s.

With that final win, the Pride captured the Black Knights Invitational, while also extending their win streak to six – the longest win streak accumulated by Hofstra since a 10-match win streak in 2014.

Hofstra, hoping to eventually top that 2014 streak, is off to California for a three game out-of-state road trip.

First on their plate is a game against the University of San Francisco, which will take place Sept. 7 at 6 p.m.

Image courtesy of Hofstra Athletics