College Park, MD - The Hofstra volleyball team dropped its first match of the 2021 season this morning as the Pride fell in three sets to Virginia at the Maryland Invite on the campus of the University of Maryland. 

Hofstra dropped the match by set scores of 16-25, 14-25, and 22-25. The Pride is now 1-1 this season, while Virginia improved to 1-1. 

Sophomore Yagmur Cinel posted nine kills in the match to lead the Pride, while junior Athina Dimitriadis added eight kills. 

The Pride gave Virginia all it could handle in the third set as Hofstra led 20-17 before the Cavaliers closed the set and the match on an 8-2 run to earn the three-set win. 

Freshman Beatriz Alves dished out a match-high 25 assists for the Pride, which also got 10 digs from freshman Chiara Cucco. 

Hofstra will conclude play at the Maryland Invite tonight when it faces the host Terrapins at 7 p.m. The match will air on BTN+. 

NOTES
- Hofstra is 7-3 all-time against Virginia. Today was the first meeting between the teams since 2017. 
- Today's match marked Hofstra's first against a current member of the Atlantic Coast conference since facing Duke on September 21, 2019. It is also the Pride's 66th all-time match against a current member of the ACC.