Always a competitive team, Hofstra University volleyball is having an outstanding season. At 21–3 overall and 13–3 in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play, the Pride earned the number one seed in the CAA tournament that starts today in Towson, Maryland. Hofstra has not qualified for the NCAA tournament since 2018, and head coach Emily Mansur said the goal is to win the conference championship and return to the highest level of competition for Division I women’s volleyball.
“Definitely, a great season; they worked super hard together,” said Mansur, now in her 12th season as head coach. “Now we’ve got to go be great this weekend so we can finish in a great way.”
A special group of seniors have been strong leaders. Izadora Stedile leads the team in kills. Clara Bal, Mairi Hadjipetrou, and Emily Nunes are also contributors. “They want to make this happen very badly, and they have been leading the group,” said Mansur. “They know that’s their last shot. The seniors are the driving force behind us having this special season.”
A couple of freshmen also made an impact. Nina Jioshvili-Ravva leads the team in assists and aces and Julia Amorim leads in blocks. Junior Nil Kayaalp leads in digs. “Julia is a phenomenal defensive player, and she has made an immediate impact. She was out for a week with an injury, but she’s back,” said Mansur.
Having a first-round bye is beautiful and amazing, Mansur noted. Volleyball is a fall sport, which means the fall semester is packed with practice and matches. The season’s first match took place before the first day of the semester. Everyone must remain locked in during the packed schedule.
“It’s practice management and being smart,” said Mansur. “We’ll do our best as a coaching staff and as the medical staff with our trainer, but I think it’s the open communication between our older players and the younger ones. A lot of times, as coaches, we can say something, but they don’t believe it at first until they experience it by having it come from a fellow teammate. It’s definitely a much bigger impact.”
The top seed earned Hofstra a bye from the quarter-final round of the CAA tournament. Tomorrow they will face the winner of today’s quarter-final match between Charleston and North Carolina A&T. Hofstra is not the only New York team in the CAA tournament. Stony Brook takes on Towson in the second quarter-final today.