Storrs, CT – Senior outside hitter Emily Burke had a strong match as she posted 11 kills on 17 attempts for a .529 attack percentage to lead the Hofstra Volleyball team to its second straight sweep, 3-0, over Columbia on Saturday morning in play at the UConn Tournament.

Hofstra, which has won nine of its 11 matches this season in sweeps, improved to 11-2 with the win. The Pride has now won eight of its last nine matches overall. In addition, the 11-2 start to the season is the second-best in program history. It is tied with the 2002 squad for second-best, and only eclipsed by the 1988 team that began the year with a 12-1 record. Columbia, which is coached by former Hofstra standout Brie Katz, fell to 3-5 with the loss.

Set scores were 25-19, 25-23 and 25-20.

Senior outside hitter Kelsie Wills tallied a match-high 13 kills for Hofstra and added nine digs. With her 13 kills in the match, she now has 1,608 career kills to become only the second player in program history to cross the 1,600-kill plateau. She is now just 46 kills shy of tying Lena Malinowski (1,654 from 1994-98) for the top spot in program history.

Both squads had strong first sets as Hofstra hit at a .467 clip to overcome a .303 hitting percentage from the Lions. Hofstra never trailed in the opening stanza, opening up an early 12-6 lead following a kill from senior middle blocker Nuria Lopes da Silva en route to the six-point win.

The second set was the closest of the contest with Columbia looking to be in control as they held a 20-16 lead late in the stanza. Hofstra would immediately rally and scored four straight points to knot the score at 20 after a service ace from Wills. The Pride would still trail, 23-22, before a kill from Burke tied the score and then Hofstra would eventually take the set as freshman outside hitter Brianna Montgomery ended the stanza and put Hofstra ahead 2-0 in the match.

Needing one more win to earn the victory in the contest, Hofstra jumped out to an early 6-2 lead in the set. Columbia would fight back and a kill from Katarina Jovicic would tie the score at 17 later on in the set. Hofstra would end any hopes of a Lions comeback as the Pride used a quick 4-0 run to take a commanding 21-17 lead in the set. Kills from Lopes da Silva and Wills would put the finishing touches on the victory as Hofstra continued its solid start to the 2014 campaign.

Sophomore libero Sophia Black picked up a match-high 13 digs for Hofstra, while sophomore setter Hannah Klemm had 38 assists and six digs.

Alex Reale led Columbia with nine kills, while Cassie Wes had 12 digs. Alex Andrejev and Jennifer Petrovich shared the setting duties for the Lions and had 15 and 13 assists, respectively.

Hofstra closes play at the UConn Tournament this evening when it takes on the host Huskies at 7:30 p.m.