Hempstead, NY - Hofstra junior Sarah Pierre and freshmen Beatriz Alves continued their stellar 2021 campaigns as both were honored by the Colonial Athletic Association for their play in the Pride's sweeps of William & Mary over the weekend. 

Pierre was named the CAA Defensive Player of the Week, while Alves earned the conference's Rookie of the Week award. It was the second time this season each has been recognized by the CAA as Pierre was the CAA Defensive Player of the Week on September 20 and Alves was the CAA Rookie of the Week on September 6. In total, Hofstra has earned weekly awards eight times from the conference office this season. 

The best blocker in the conference, Pierre had another strong week after returning from a short absence. Pierre totaled 13 blocks and a pair of kills in the Pride's two matches. She opened up with 11 blocks and a kill against William & Mary on Saturday. Pierre's 11 blocks marked the third time this season she reached double figures in blocks in a match. She is the first Hofstra player with three matches of 10+ blocks since Adama Aja in 2014. On Sunday, she added three blocks, a kill, and an assist. For the week she averaged a strong 2.33 blocks per set. 

It was another great week for Alves as she quarterbacked the Pride to a pair of sweeps over William & Mary. Alves totaled 75 assists, 13 digs, six kills, and four blocks. More importantly, she helped Hofstra to a .325 attack percentage for the week with both matches setting new season-highs in terms of match attack percentage. She opened up with 39 assists, seven digs, four kills, and two blocks in Saturday's win. On Sunday, she totaled 36 assists, six digs, two blocks, and two kills. For the week she averaged 12.50 assists, 2.17 digs, 1.00 kills, 0.67 blocks, and 0.50 service aces per set.