Hempstead, NY - The Hofstra volleyball team improved to a perfect 3-0 on the season as the Pride earned 3-1 wins over both NJIT and Delaware State on Saturday at the Hofstra Invitational in the David S. Mack Physical Education Center. 

It is three wins in three matches for Hofstra, while NJIT is 1-2 on the year and Delaware State is 2-1 in 2023. 

The win over the Highlanders saw Hofstra win by scores of 25-17, 20-25, 25-10, and 25-22. In the contest against the Hornets, the Pride earned the victory by scores of 25-8, 25-21, 19-25, and 25-23. 

It was the Clara Bal show all day for Hofstra as she established a new career-high with 16 kills in the NJIT match and then matched it against Delaware State. 

Hofstra nearly hit .300 against NJIT, tallying a .295 hitting percentage in the contest. Yagmur Cinel added 12 kills, five digs, four blocks, and two service aces in the match, while Beatriz Braga had 10 kills and eight digs and Sarah Pierre posted eight kills and seven blocks. 

Against Delaware State, Braga was solid once again with 15 kills and nine digs, while Chiara Cucco posted 15 digs. 

Beatriz Alves had 81 assists total in the two matches, while also adding six kills, seven service aces, 13 digs, and a pair of blocks. 

Hofstra is back in action on Tuesday when it travels to Iona for a 6 p.m. match. 

NOTES
- The Pride is now 7-0 all-time against NJIT and 3-0 all-time against Delaware State. It was the first match against the Highlanders since the spring 2021 (Covid) season and the first encounter with the Hornets since 2013. 
- The 3-0 start is the Pride's first in a non-Covid season since a 4-0 start in 2016. Hofstra did start 3-0 in the Covid-shortened 2020 (spring 2021) season in which they played a total of only seven matches. 
- Bal's previous career-high was 15 kills against Bryant on August 27, 2022.