Hempstead, NY – The Hofstra Volleyball team will get back on the court this weekend when it takes part in the Syracuse Tournament this Friday and Saturday. 

Hofstra will open tournament play with a Friday afternoon match against the host Orange before taking on #17 Penn State and Siena on Saturday afternoon. The match against Penn State is Hofstra's first against a nationally-ranked opponent since facing #11 Nebraska in the 2014 NCAA Tournament and the first regular season match against a nationally-ranked opponent since taking on #7 Southern California and #21 San Diego early in the 2008 campaign. 

There will be live stats available for all three matches with links available on this page and also on the volleyball schedule page at GoHofstra.com. 

Against this week's opponents, Hofstra is 6-4 against Syracuse, 11-1 against Siena and 0-6 versus Penn State. The Pride last faced Syracuse in in 1996, dropping a three-set match in Hempstead. Hofstra and Siena faced off last season with the Pride capturing a four-set victory in Hempstead. The last meeting between Hofstra and Penn State occurred during the 2006 NCAA Tournament with the Nittany Lions earning a three-set win in in the second round of the championship. 

The Pride will face a pair of teams from the state of New York during this weekend's play and Hofstra brings an all-time Division I mark of 104-32 (76%) all-time against teams from the state of New York into this week. The Pride is already 2-0 this season against NY state teams.

Hofstra (5-2) most recently took part in the UNLV Rebel Challenge, defeating Sacramento State and dropping matches to CSUN and UNLV. Junior Leticia Valente earned all-tournament honors for her strong play after totaling a combined 35 kills, eight blocks, five digs and three assists in the three matches. 

Senior Veronika Kostova has had a solid start to her final season as she leads the team with 109 kills, a .406 attack percentage and an average of 4.04 kills per set. The Pride has gotten solid setting from a pair of players this season as senior Hannah Klemm has amassed 245 assists (9.42 per set) to lead the team, while freshman Luisa Sydlik has 88 (4.89 per set). Defensively, sophomore Luisa Domingues is tops on the squad with 135 digs (4.82 per set) and sophomore Michela Rucli leads with 23 blocks (0.82 per set). 

Syracuse enters the tournament with an 0-4 record, having fallen to Connecticut, Colgate, Oregon State and Iowa State. Penn State, which is ranked #17, is 2-3 this season with wins over West Virginia and Georgia Southern and losses to #19 North Carolina, Colorado and #9 Stanford. Siena is 1-5 with a win over St. Francis Brooklyn and losses to Virginia Tech, Appalachian State, New Hampshire, Harvard and Georgia. 

Hofstra will have a short turnaround after the trip to Syracuse as they will face Seton Hall on September 13 at the David S. Mack Fitness Center.