Hempstead, NY – Sophomore Laura Masciullo had 22 kills and 11 digs for her fourth double-double of the season for the Hofstra Volleyball team, but James Madison rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the match to defeat the Pride in five sets on Monday evening at the David S. Mack Physical Education Center. 

Sophomore Luisa Sydlik added a career-best 59 assists in the match, along with eight digs and a career-high five blocks, but Hofstra fell to 13-8 and 5-2 in Colonial Athletic Association play with the defeat. The loss ended a five-match win streak for the Pride. James Madison, which won by set scores of 21-25, 17-25, 25-22, 26-24 and 15-13, improved to 13-2 and 4-2 in conference action. 

The Pride hit over .300 in each of the first two sets in jumping out to the lead in the contest. Similar to Hofstra's last match on Saturday against William & Mary, the opponent came out of the break with the momentum and sent the contest to a decisive fifth stanza. Unlike Saturday, Hofstra was unable to stem the tide tonight as JMU held the Pride to a .033 attack percentage in the final set to earn the narrow win. 

Junior Michela Rucli added a season-high 15 kills in the match for Hofstra, which also got 13 kills and 10 digs from freshman Ivania Ortiz. M'Kaela White led the Dukes with 19 kills and seven blocks, while Sarah Driscoll posted 28 digs in the contest for JMU. 

Hofstra returns to action on Sunday when it hosts Northeastern at 1 p.m. 

NOTES
- Hofstra leads the all-time series with James Madison, 24-14. 
- Sydlik's previous career-high of 58 assists came against Villanova on August 26 of this season. Her previous career-high of four blocks came against UNCW back on September 24 of this season. 
- The double-double was Ortiz's team-leading sixth of the season. 
- Freshman Emma Price had a strong match with 12 kills for the Pride.