HOFSTRA
Story by
Kevin Sperandeo
Photos by
Brandon Lukain
T
he Hofstra Volleyball team
tripped down to Charleston, South
Carolina for the Colonial Athletic
Association Championship. In their first
match, on Friday, the Pride swept the 4th seed
James Madison University.
The following day, a loss to the topseeded Charleston Cougars ended Hofstra’s
Volleyball season at the CAA Semifinals.
Despite, junior Nuria Lopes da Dilva’s record
breaking 15 kills in one match and outstanding
performance; the Cougars beat the Pride three
matches to none.
The match ended Hofstra’s run for a
conference championship and the team
finished with a record of 17-15. This was
Hofstra’s 11th appearance at the CAA
Championships and the Pride holds a total of
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16 conference titles since emerging.
This is Kristina Hernandez’s sixth season
as head coach at Hofstra. She began coaching
at Loyola College, transferring to Hofstra in
2008. That season she led the pride to an 1814 season. After a few rough seasons, with
teams riddled with injuries, Hernandez’s 2012
team managed a 21-14 record and made a three
game run through the CCA Championship’s
earning Hofstra a Conference Championship.
Hernandez holds an overall record of 93-103
with the Pride.
Nuria Lopes da Silva is an international
student-athlete from Lison, Portugal. The
junior, is a right side hitter for Hofstra. She
led the team in blocks this year 95 assists
and 7 solo blocks. She also had 252 kills and
racked up 310.5 points this season.
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