Hempstead, NY – Junior outside hitter Veronika Kostova led four players in double figures with 21 kills as the Hofstra Volleyball team had to go the distance once again and defeated Elon in five sets on Sunday afternoon at the David S. Mack Physical Education Center. 

Joining Kostova with double digit kills were freshman outside hitter Nanishka Perez (15), sophomore middle blocker Leticia Valente (13) and sophomore right side Brianna Montgomery (10). Perez also added 11 digs. 

Junior setter Hannah Klemm had a strong match for the Pride with 55 assists, 14 digs, three kills and two blocks. 

Set scores were 22-25, 25-17, 25-17, 19-25 and 15-9 in favor of Hofstra, which played its sixth five-set match of the season today. 

Hofstra improved to 12-6 overall and 3-0 in Colonial Athletic Association play with the win. It is Hofstra's third straight victory. Elon falls to 3-12 and 0-2 in league play. 

After seeing the Phoenix jump out to an early lead in the match, the Pride defense stepped up in the second and third sets to hold Elon to hitting percentages of .029 and .075 to take a two sets to one lead in the contest. 

Elon forced the decisive fifth set with a six-point win in the fourth stanza, setting up the exciting finish. 

Hofstra got off to a tremendous start in the fifth set, scoring the first six points on six straight attack errors by the Phoenix. Elon gradually closed the gap, getting to within 7-5 before Hofstra scored three straight to make in 10-5. The Pride would finally put the match away as Kostova slammed down kills on the final two points of the match to push Hofstra to the victory. 

Senior libero/defensive specialist Corrina Delgadillo posted 23 digs for the Pride, while freshman libero/defensive specialist Luisa Domingues had 16 digs. 

Megan Gravley had 16 kills and 11 digs for Elon, which also got 20 digs from Maddie Jaudon and 31 assists and nine digs from Kayla Agae. 

Hofstra will head south next weekend as the Pride will face Charleston on Friday at 7 p.m. before taking on UNCW on Sunday at 1 p.m. The match against the Cougars will be a rematch of last year's CAA Championship that the Pride won in five sets. That road trip will start a stretch that will see Hofstra play its next five matches away from Hempstead. The Pride's next home match isn't until October 23 against UNCW. 

NOTES
- Hofstra is now 3-0 all-time against Elon with all three matches occurring in the last two seasons. 
- Hofstra has started 3-0 in CAA action in each of the last two years. In 2014 the Pride began the conference slate with seven straight wins. 
- Perez's double-double was her team-leading third of the season. It was Klemm's first in 2015. 
- Freshman Michela Rucli posted a team-high five blocks, the 12th time this season she has tallied at least five in a match.