Newark, DE – Senior middle blocker Nuria Lopes da Silva had a match-high 18 kills to lead all players as the Hofstra Volleyball team defeated Delaware in four sets on Wednesday evening at the Bob Carpenter Center.

Set scores were 25-21, 25-23, 20-25 and 25-15 in favor of the Pride.

Junior libero Corrina Delgadillo picked up a match and career-high 23 digs for the Pride.

Hofstra continued its hold on first place in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) standings as the Pride improved to 22-3 overall and 10-1 in conference play. Delaware fell to 12-13 and 5-5 in league action with the loss.

The Pride held the advantage the majority of the opening stanza until Delaware rallied late to get the score within one, 22-21, but Hofstra got a clutch kill from senior outside hitter Emily Burke to push the lead to two and Burke would add another put-away on match point to give the Pride the early advantage.

Delaware looked to be in good position to tie the match at one set each as they jumped out to an early 10-5 lead in the second stanza. Hofstra would still be trailing by six, 17-11, before they began to mount their rally. On the heels of a 9-3 run, the Pride would knot the score at 20 on a kill from Lopes da Silva. The two squads would alternate scoring with Lopes da Silva coming up big once again as her kill later in the set would give Hofstra the lead for good at 22-21. The Pride would open up the 2-0 lead in the match as a Delaware attack error gave Hofstra the commanding advantage.

The Blue Hens were in control most of the third set as they looked to earn their first set win of the match. A kill from senior outside hitter Kelsie Wills would close the gap to 22-20 late, but Delaware scored the final three points of the set to earn the five-point win.

Hofstra was in serious trouble early in the fourth set as Delaware carried the momentum from the third set win and scored the first five points of the stanza. Trailing by five very early, Hofstra immediately responded and knotted the score at nine following a service ace from junior defensive specialist Kaitlyn Krause. A kill from Lopes da Silva would give the Pride an 11-10 lead and Hofstra would never look back as they pulled away for the easy 10-point victory.

Also contributing double figures in kills for Hofstra were Burke and Wills with 14 and 12, respectively. Wills added 16 digs, while sophomore setter Hannah Klemm had 51 assists, five digs and three blocks. Senior middle blocker Adama Aja and Lopes da Silva each tallied six blocks.

Alexa Swann had 13 kills to lead Delaware, while Taylor Hollingsworth totaled 14 digs. Julia Anderson had 33 assists for the Blue Hens.

Hofstra returns to action on Friday when it heads to Towson for a 7 p.m. match. The match will pit two of the top three teams in the CAA standings as Hofstra is in first place, while the Tigers are in third with a 7-2 CAA mark (21-3 overall).