Washington, DC – Freshman Ivania Ortiz recorded a match-high 20 kills and senior Doris Bogoje tallied a career-high 14 kills to lead the Hofstra Pride to their first win of the season with a 3-2 decision over the Blackbirds of LIU Brooklyn in the opening match of the George Washington University Invitational at the Smith Center Friday,

The Pride, who played in their second five-set match of the year, won by set scores of 23-25, 26-24, 25-23, 18-25 and 15-7. Hofstra improves to 1-3 on the year while the Blackbirds of LIU Brooklyn slip to 3-2 on the young season.

In a match where the first three sets were decided by two points, the Pride dropped the first set but rebounded to take the second and third sets. In set one, there were 10 tied scores and five lead changes before LIU Brooklyn grabbed the win. In set two, Ortiz tallied nine kills and a .368 attack percentage and eight kills in the third to give the Pride a 2-1 advantage. LIU Brooklyn tied the match in the fourth set by jumping out to an early 13-4 lead on the way to a 25-18 victory. But Hofstra repaid the favor in the final set, flying out to a 10-3 lead before posting the 15-7 win.

Ortiz, who did not play in the first set, posted her second-best kill mark this season behind the 27 smashes she recorded against Villanova on August 26. Bogoje cruised past her previous best-mark of nine kills against Delaware last season with her 14 while posting a .323 attack percentage. Hofstra junior Michela Rucli also tallied 14 kills and had a match-high .500 (14-2-24) attack percentage. Sophomore Luisa Sydlik tallied a match-high 56 assists, just two off her career-high of 58, set against Villanova last weekend.

Hofstra resumes action in the George Washington Invitational tomorrow (Saturday) when the Pride faces Indiana at 10 a.m. and the host Colonials of George Washington at 7 p.m.

NOTES
- Hofstra recorded its second-best set attack percentage of the season in the second set Friday. The Pride had 17 kills in 40 attempts with only two errors for a .375 attack percentage. Hofstra had a .441 attack mark in the fourth set against Villanova.
- The Pride is now 1-1 in five-set matches this season. Hofstra was 6-1 in five-setters in 2016
- Rucli's 14 kills were her second, double-digit kill match of the year
- Dig this…Hofstra had a season-high 106 digs in the match
- The Pride's win over LIU Brooklyn evened the series at 4-4