Hempstead, NY – Clara Bal posted a team-leading 12 kills and Izaroda Stedile dug out 11 William & Mary attacks as the Hofstra volleyball team earned a three-set sweep of the Tribe in CAA action on Saturday afternoon at the David S. Mack Physical Education Center.
 
Set scores were 25-22, 25-17, 25-23 for the Pride. Hofstra improves to 15-5 overall and 5-4 against CAA competition, and William & Mary is now 11-8 overall and 6-3 in league action.
 
Hofstra opened the first set with a 5-1 run before the Tribe closed the gap midway through the set. William & Mary rattled off four consecutive points to take a 12-11 lead over Hofstra, followed by a back-and-forth affair with both teams trading points. William & Mary scored three straight to pull ahead 18-16. Back-to-back Beatriz Alves kills evened the score at 18-18, and an Emily Nunes put Hofstra back in front of their conference opponents. The Tribe tied the score at 21-21, but Hofstra took the set with four of the final five points.
 
Hofstra captured the second set by limiting William & Mary to a .143 attacking percentage while forcing five attacking errors. The Tribe opened set three with a 6-2 run against the Pride, but the hosts responded with a 5-0 run, keyed by a pair of Stedile kills, a Clara Bal kill, and a Yagmur Cinel service ace, to pull in front by one. William & Mary hung tough with the Pride, never letting their lead grow any larger than three, before the visitors scored eight straight points to lead 17-13 before a Tribe attacking error ended the run. Down by four, Hofstra responded with a trio of consecutive points to cut the William & Mary advantage to one. The Pride scored three straight to pull ahead 22-21, but the Tribe pulled back in front with a pair of points. Kills by Sarah Pierre and Beatriz Braga put Hofstra on match point, and a Stedile service ace sealed the home sweep against the Tribe.
 
Alves tallied 33 assists for the Pride, while Stedile finished with nine kills, and Cinel posted eight kills.
 
Taylor Burrell led William & Mary with 11 kills, and Sarah Callendar made eight digs.
 
The two teams will conclude the weekend series on Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
NOTES:
-Hofstra is now 32-19 all-time against William & Mary.
-Sarah Pierre recorded one solo block and was a part of three joint blocks.
-Cinel and Chiara Cucco each finished with two of Hofstra's six service aces.