Hempstead, NY – Junior outside hitter Kelsie Wills slammed down a match-high 23 kills and junior right side Nuria Lopes da Silva added 10 kills as the Hofstra Volleyball team won its second inseason tournament of the year with a four-set victory over Central Michigan in the championship match of the Hofstra Invitational on Saturday evening at the Mack Physical Education Center.
Set scores were 25-21, 23-25, 26-24 and 25-21 in favor of Hofstra.
Hofstra previously earned the title at the Hofstra Asics Invitational as well, and tonight's win improved the Pride's overall record to 7-3 and also made their home mark a stellar 7-0. Central Michigan fell to 4-5 with the loss.
Wills picked up most valuable player and all-tournament honors for Hofstra, while Lopes da Silva garnered the first all-tournament honor of her Pride career. Wills added six digs in the match with Lopes da Silva chipping in with three blocks and three assists as well.
Hofstra opened the match with a 25-21 win in the opening stanza as the Pride's strong defense held the Chippewas to a .050 hitting percentage. Central Michigan would rally back, though, and earned a narrow 25-23 win in the second set. CMU's offense was clicking in the second set as the Chips had 15 kills on 30 attempts with just three errors for a .400 attack percentage.
The highly-entertaining championship match would not disappoint as the third set went down to the wire as well before the Pride escaped with a 26-24 win. That would put Hofstra in a position to capture the match in the fourth set if they could come out victorious.
With their strongest offensive showing of the contest, a .343 hitting percentage, the Pride never trailed in the final set and won 25-21 to win the match in four set.
Senior outside hitter Jovana Barisic chipped in with nine kills for Hofstra, while sophomore setter Kaitlyn Krause continued her solid play this season with 26 assists, eight digs and four blocks.
Kaitlyn McIntyre led Central Michigan with 13 kills and added nine digs. Kelly Maxwell had a match-high 46 assists, while Jenna Coates picked up 16 digs.
Freshman libero Sophia Black led Hofstra with 14 digs.
Hofstra returns to action on Tuesday when it travels to LIU Brooklyn for a 7 p.m. match.
Hofstra Invitational All-Tournament Team
Kelsie Wills, Hofstra (MVP)
Nuria Lopes da Silva, Hofstra
Kaitlyn McIntyre, Central Michigan
Tiana Woolridge, Princeton
Kayla Eversgerd, USC Upstate
Team Champion: Hofstra University
Team Runner-Up: Central Michigan University
