Charlottesville, VA – Freshman
Ivania Ortiz had an outstanding match with 27 kills and the Hofstra Volleyball team rallied to send the match to a fifth set, but Villanova earned a narrow victory in the final stanza to capture the win on Saturday afternoon.
The loss was the Pride's second straight to open the season at the Fairfield Inn and Suites Cavalier Classic. Villanova improved to 2-0 with the victory. Set scores were 25-23, 25-21, 17-25, 17-25 and 15-12 in favor of the Wildcats.
Hofstra looked to be in trouble early in the match, falling in a two sets to none hole before rallying with strong third and fourth sets to knot the match. The Pride hit at a .441 clip in the fourth set to even the match at two. Hofstra trailed 12-10 late in the fifth set before scoring twice, including a kill from Ortiz, to even the set at 12. Villanova would not be denied, though, and scored the final three points of the match to earn the narrow victory.
Hofstra concludes play with a 4:30 p.m. match against Liberty.
NOTES
- Hofstra is now 4-3 all-time against Villanova.
- Sophomore setter
Luisa Sydlik had 58 assists in the match. It is the most assists by a Pride player since
Hannah Klemm notched 58 against Charleston on November 20, 2015.
- With Ortiz (27) and Masciullo (22) both totaling more than 20 kills in the match it marks the first time since September 28, 2012 that a pair of Hofstra teammates has done that. Nikki Kinnier and Kelsie Wills had 21 kills against William & Mary in the most recent occurrence.
- Ortiz's 27 kills are the most for a Pride player since
Veronika Kostova had 27 against Charleston on October 1, 2015.
