Charleston, SC – Senior middle blocker Nuria Lopes da Silva was huge with a career-high 20 kills to lead the Hofstra Volleyball team to a statement win in five sets over Charleston on Friday evening at the TD Arena.

Set scores were 25-17, 17-25, 25-20, 23-25 and 15-13 in favor of the Pride. The match featured the top two teams in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) standings and both squads lived up to their billing.

The win, Hofstra's ninth straight, improves the Pride's record to 18-2 overall and a perfect 6-0 in league play. Hofstra is now alone in first place in the conference standings. Charleston falls to 12-8 and 4-1 in conference action.

The 18-2 record after 20 matches continues to be the program's second-best after that length, only bested by the 1988 squad that was 19-1 (finished 37-5). The Pride's last win streak longer than nine was a 12-match win streak from September 15 – October 27, 2006.

Hofstra also handed Charleston just its second-ever conference loss as the Cougars entered tonight's match having won 19 of their 20 CAA contests since joining the league last season.

It was a balanced scoring attack for the Pride as sophomore middle blocker Veronika Kostova also tallied a career-high with 17 kills, while senior outside hitter Kelsie Wills added 15 kills and 10 digs.

Hofstra's defense was huge in the contest as the Pride had 17 team blocks (second-most this season) and picked up 86 digs. Sophomore libero Sophia Black led Hofstra with 23 digs, while junior defensive specialists Corrina Delgadillo and Kaitlyn Krause tallied 16 and 15 digs, respectively.

Hofstra got off to an incredible start in the first set as the Pride scored seven of the first eight points in the set to lead 7-1 and force Charleston to use an early timeout. Lopes da Silva had a pair kills during the early run to give Hofstra the lead. Kostova was huge in the first set as she had four kills to lead all players and the Pride never allowed the Cougars to get close the remainder of the stanza in holding on for the eight-point win. Hofstra's strong defense was key, as the Pride held Charleston to a negative .125 attack percentage.

The second set would see Hofstra fall behind 13-10 before the Pride rallied with a quick 5-1 run to earn a 15-14 lead. The advantage would be short-lived, though, as the Cougars immediately answered with six straight points to lead 20-15 en route to the second set victory.

Similar to the first set, Hofstra once again would lead early on as service ace from Lopes da Silva gave the Pride a 7-2 advantage. Charleston would get as close as four later in the set, but a kill from Wills followed by a Cougar attack error would give Hofstra the 2-1 lead in the match.

Neither team was able to pull away in a highly-competitive fourth set as the Cougars broke a 14-all tie with a 4-1 scoring run to lead 18-15. Hofstra would rally to get within one on several occasions late in the stanza, including at 24-23, but a kill from Melissa Morello ended the set and sent the match to a fifth and final set.

Looking to take the lead early in the decisive final set, Hofstra scored four of the first five points to lead 4-1. It was a total team effort early on in the stanza as three different players had kills and the Pride added a service ace as well. The Pride would continue to lead 8-5 heading into the change of sides, forcing the Cougars to call a time out. Hofstra looked to be in control later in the set as the Pride took an 11-7 lead following a kill from Kostova and an attack error from Charleston. The Cougars had one last run left in them, though, as they went on a 6-2 run to even the final set at 13. With the outcome of the match in doubt, Kostova and Lopes da Silva came up huge for the Pride as they slammed down kills to give Hofstra the impressive road victory.

Sophomore setter Hannah Klemm had a match-high 52 assists and added 14 digs for a double-double. Senior middle blocker Adama Aja led all players with 10 blocks, while senior outside hitter Emily Burke chipped in with eight kills and seven blocks.

Cara Howley led Charleston with 19 kills and added nine digs. Morello had 18 kills and 18 digs for the Cougars, while Andi Zbojniewicz posted a match-best 37 digs.

Hofstra is back in action next weekend when it travels to William & Mary and James Madison. The Pride will take on the Tribe on Friday at 7 p.m. and then the Dukes on Saturday at 7 p.m. as well.