South Orange, NJ - Sophomore Madeline Matheny had her first career double-double with a career-best 14 kills and 10 digs to lead the Hofstra volleyball team to a come-from-behind five-set win over Seton Hall at Walsh Gymnasium on Friday evening. 

Set scores were 25-22, 24-26, 20-25, 25-22, and 16-14. 

The win was Hofstra's third in a row to start the season (3-0), while Seton Hall falls to 1-1 this year.

Junior Maddie Appleton continued her stellar play to start the year at the setter position as she posted a career-high 38 assists and 14 digs for her second double-double of the year. Senior Juliana Vaz had a match-high 18 digs to lead the way for the Pride. 

Hofstra got off to a hot start in the match, slamming down 19 kills on 43 attempts in the first set for a .326 attack percentage to take an early lead in the contest. The Pirates posted consecutive wins in the second and third sets to earn the lead as they held the Pride to a .059 hitting percentage in the third stanza to take the lead. 

The Pride was not to be denied, though, as Hofstra captured a three-point win in the fourth set to set up a fifth and final set to decide a winner. Hofstra would jump out to an early 8-2 lead as sophomores Zyare Abdul-Rahim and Sarah Pierre had back-to-back kills during the run to push the Pride. The lead would grow seven on a pair of occasions, the last following a kill from sophomore Athina Dimitriadis at 13-6 before Seton Hall rallied and eventually evened the score at 13. After a kill from Seton Hall tied the score at 14, the Pride got kills from freshman Bianca Bucciarelli and Pierre to end the match and capture the exciting road victory. 

Bucciarelli was second on the team with 13 kills, while Abdul-Rahim added 12 kills and senior Ana Martinovic chipped in with 10. Martinovic had her second double-double of the year with 12 digs in the match. 

Hofstra is back on the court on Friday, March 5, when it opens Colonial Athletic Association play by hosting Northeastern. First serve is scheduled for 4 p.m. 

NOTES 
- Hofstra is 11-6 all-time against Seton Hall. It is the Pride's fourth straight win over the Pirates and second consecutive five-set victory. 
- Matheny's previous career-high of 12 kills came against Delaware on November 17, 2019. 
- The Pride is 3-0 for the first time since beginning the 2016 season with four straight wins.