South Orange, NJ – Freshman outside hitter Nanishka Perez posted a team-high 14 kills for Hofstra, but Temple earned a close four-set win over the Pride in a match at the Seton Hall Classic hosted by Seton Hall at Walsh Gymnasium. 

Set scores were 25-22, 25-22, 22-25 and 25-22 in favor of Temple, which improved to 3-1 with the win. Hofstra fell to 4-2 with the defeat. 

Sophomore middle blocker Leticia Valente had an outstanding match for Hofstra as she hit at a .520 clip with 13 kills on 25 attempts and no errors. 

Hofstra got off to a slow start offensively as it hit just .114 in the opening set and followed that up with a .179 attack percentage in the second stanza. 

Things would start to improve for the Pride in the third set as Hofstra had a stellar set with 13 kills on 34 attempts and only two errors for a .324 attack percentage. 

Freshman libero Luisa Domingues picked up a team-best 18 digs, while junior setter Hannah Klemm had 51 assists for the Pride in the match. 

Freshman middle blocker Michela Rucli posted seven blocks and 11 kills for Hofstra. 

Irem Asci led all players with 17 kills and also added nine digs for Temple. 

Hofstra returns to action on Saturday with a 10 a.m. match against Seton Hall and a 5:30 p.m. match against Notre Dame. 

NOTES
- Hofstra is now 10-5 all-time against Temple. It was the first meeting since 2013. 
- The 14 kills by Perez marked the first time in her career she has reached double figures in kills in a match. 
- The 11 kills by Rucli was also the first double-digit kill total of her young career. 
- Domingues' dig total was a new season-high for the freshman.
- Rucli has now had five or more blocks in four of the Pride's six matches this season.