Harrisonburg, VA - Freshman Aisha Skinner had 15 kills and a season-high 21 digs and fellow freshman Maddie Appleton posted a team-high 22 digs, but the Hofstra Volleyball dropped its Colonial Athletic Association opener in a highly-entertaining five sets to James Madison on Saturday afternoon at Godwin Hall. 

Hofstra fell to 10-2 and 0-1 in CAA play with the loss, while James Madison improved to 10-3 and 2-0 in league action. Set scores were 25-19, 24-26, 25-19, 22-25 and 15-10 for the Dukes. 

Trailing two sets to one in the match Hofstra rallied in the fourth stanza and faced a 22-19 deficit before putting together a 6-0 scoring run to end the set and earn the three-point win to send the contest to the final decisive set. A kill from junior Laura Masciullo close the gap in the final set to 10-9, but James Madison took control with three straight points to eventually earn the win. 

Masciullo led the Pride with 16 kills, while senior Michela Rucli had six kills and five blocks and senior Doris Bogoje posted eight kills and four blocks. Junior Luisa Sydlik dished out 49 assists and picked up 14 digs. Bryn Recker had 16 kills and 16 digs for the Dukes, which also got 45 assists, 10 digs and three blocks from Sarah Martin. 

Hofstra returns to action on Monday when it heads to Towson for a 7 p.m. match. 

NOTES
- Hofstra is now 24-16 all-time against James Madison. 
- Skinner's previous season-high of 15 digs came at San Francisco on September 7. 
- It was Sydlik's team-leading eighth double-double of the season and the fourth of the season for Skinner. 
- Hofstra has already played five five-set matches this season.