Storrs, CT – Senior outside hitter Kelsie Wills was her usual brilliant self as the talented Matamata, New Zealand native slammed down a match-high 26 kills and added seven digs to lead the Hofstra Volleyball team to a four-set win over host Connecticut in the championship match of the UConn Tournament on Saturday evening at Gampel Pavilion.

For her efforts, Wills was named the MVP of the tournament and was joined on the all-tournament team by senior outside hitter Emily Burke and senior middle blocker Nuria Lopes da Silva. Burke had 14 kills in the match tonight, while Lopes da Silva added 10 kills and three digs.

The win improves Hofstra's record to 12-2 this season. It is the second-best start in program history, only bested by the 1988 squad that began the year 13-1. Connecticut fell to 7-4 with the loss.

Set scores were 25-19, 27-25, 20-25 and 25-20 for Hofstra.

Sophomore setter Hannah Klemm dished out a career-high 53 assists for Hofstra, while picking up 12 digs for her second double-double of the season. Sophomore libero Sophia Black nearly reached the 30-dig plateau as she posted 29 digs in the contest.

For Wills, the outstanding match moved her one step closer to the program's all-time record for kills. Wills now has 1,634 kills and needs only 20 kills to tie Lena Malinowski (1,654 from 1994-98) for the school record.

Trailing 16-15 in the opening set, Hofstra used a 5-0 run to open up a 20-16 lead as Lopes da Silva had a pair of kills during the run. Connecticut closed to within 21-19, but Hofstra got a pair of kills from Wills over the final few points of the set to take the early lead in the match. Hofstra was able to stay on track offensively in the opening set, as the Pride committed just one attack error on 40 attempts.

The second stanza was a back and forth affair with neither squad able to take control. Both teams had set points late in the stanza and were unable to convert with Hofstra earning the first one at 24-23. The Huskies responded with two straight points to earn a 25-24 advantage, but a kill from Burke knotted the score at 25 and back-to-back attack errors from Connecticut allowed Hofstra to take the 2-0 lead in the contest.

Hofstra would drop its first set of the weekend as the Huskies used a huge run midway through the third stanza to capture a 25-20 victory and send the match to a fourth set.

The fourth set would be tied at nine before the Pride scored consecutive points to open up an 11-9 lead and never looked back. With the lead at 12-11, Hofstra put the finishing touches on the win as they scored three straight points, including a kill from Wills, to lead 15-11. Hofstra cruised from that point and Burke ended the match with two straight kills to give the Pride the tournament title.

Kenya Cason led Connecticut with 19 kills, while Brianna Datti had 27 digs and Rebecca Rivera dished out 26 assists.

Hofstra will open Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play next weekend when it travels to Elon and UNCW. The Pride will take on the Phoenix on Friday at 7 p.m. and close the road trip with a match against the Seahawks on Sunday at 1 p.m. The match against Elon will be the first ever between the schools as conference rivals and the Pride Volleyball and Women's Soccer programs will both be facing the Phoenix at the same time down in North Carolina. Both contests are the first-ever between Hofstra and Elon as conference rivals in any sport.