Hempstead, NY - The Hofstra volleyball team dropped its first match of the season after opening the year with three straight wins as they fell in four sets to Northeastern on Friday evening at the David S. Mack Physical Education Center. 

Set scores were 25-27, 25-15, 25-18, and 25-18 in favor of the visitors. 

Hofstra got 10 kills from sophomore Madeline Matheny, 22 digs from senior Juliana Vaz, and shared setting duties as junior Maddie Appleton had 22 assists and junior Mariana Volponi e Giordan chipped in with 16. 

The match was the Colonial Athletic Association opener for both teams. Hofstra falls to 3-1 with the loss, while Northeastern improves to 4-1. 

Hofstra won a tight first set as they narrowly escaped with a 27-25 victory to open the early lead in the contest. The Pride held the Huskies to below a .200 attack percentage in the first set, but Northeastern evened the match as they hit .433 in the second set in winning by 10. 

Northeastern would take the lead in the match with a win in the third set as they used an early 5-1 run to take a 10-6 advantage in the set and wouldn't look back. The fourth set was knotted at 11 before Northeastern put together an 8-1 run to open up a 19-12 lead. The Huskies would eventually earn a seven-point win as they won the contest in four sets. 

Senior Ana Martinovic chipped in with 10 digs and nine kills for Hofstra, while freshman Damla Tokman posted six kills and a team-high five blocks in the match. 

Erica Stauton led Northeastern with 16 kills, while Nailah Jenkins had 12 kills and eight blocks. Kayla Martin tallied 27 assists for the Huskies. 

Hofstra and Northeastern will meet again on Sunday in Boston. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m. 

NOTES
- Hofstra leads the all-time series with Northeastern, 45-14. The Huskies win today ended a six-match win streak in the series by the Pride. 
- The 22 digs by Vaz were a Hofstra individual high this season. 
- Martinovic saw her streak of four straight matches in double figures in kills come to an end.