Wilmington, NC - Junior
Yagmur Cinel slammed down a match-high 15 kills and added 10 digs to lead the Hofstra volleyball team to its ninth consecutive victory, a four-set win over UNCW on Saturday afternoon at Hanover Hall.
The nine straight wins now ranks as the 11th-longest win streak in program history and the 9-0 start to conference play is the program's second-best since joining the Colonial Athletic Association in 2001. The 2006 team began CAA play with a 13-0 record. The win streak is the longest since a similar nine-match streak in 2018 and the last time the Pride had a win streak longer than nine was a 10-match win streak in 2014.
The win streak is also tied for the seventh-longest in the nation currently.
Hofstra is now 12-8 overall and 9-0 in league action. UNCW fell to 3-13 and 1-6 in conference play.
Hofstra took a commanding 2-0 lead in the match with wins in the opening two sets. After UNCW earned a narrow win in the third set, the Pride dominated early in the fourth set to end any doubt in the match. Hofstra opened up an early 14-4 lead and were never seriously challenged before a kill from senior
Zyare Abdul-Rahim ended the match and kept the win streak alive.
Abdul-Rahim finished with 14 kills in the match, while freshman
Izadora Stedile posted 12 kills and 13 digs. Senior
Sarah Pierre added seven kills and a match-high four blocks. Sophomores
Beatriz Alves (45 assists and 12 digs) and
Chiara Cucco (22 digs and six assists) continued their excellent play.
Katie Lanz had eight kills and eight digs for UNCW, while Annabelle Schall tallied 27 assists and 16 digs.
Hofstra and UNCW will square off at 1 p.m. on Sunday to conclude the weekend series. The match will air on FloVolleyball.
NOTES
- Hofstra is now 32-7 all-time against UNCW and has won six straight in the series.
- The double-double was the seventh of the season for Alves, the fourth for Cinel, and the third for Stedile.
- For Cucco it was her second straight match with 20 or more digs and the sixth time this season she has done that.
- Alves crossed the 40-assist plateau for the sixth time this season and the fourth consecutive match.
