Visiting their Long Island rivals, the Seawolves dropped a 5 set nail-bitter to Hofstra on Tuesday night. After countless lead changes and a barrage of kills from both squads, Stony Brook fell to the Pride 3-2 (25-21, 24-26, 25-18, 21-25, 15-13), losing its seventh despite stellar play from upper classmen Lindsey Gordon (N. Patchogue, N.Y.) and Ashley Headen (Alexandria, Va.).‘

From the first serve, the competitive nature of both teams surfaced.’ In the first set alone, the squads tied the score 15 times and exchanged the lead five times. After going up13-10, the Seawolves relinquished the lead shortly after, finding themselves down one at 15-14. After the Seawolves battled back to tie things up at 21 all, Hofstra sealed the set by scoring four consecutive times and grabbing the 25-21 victory. ‘ The Seawolves jumped out to an early 7-3 lead in the second set, riding the wave of three powerful kills from Headen. The two teams traded scores until junior Jeanette Gibbs (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) put the Seawolves well ahead at 13-8, notching back-to-back aces that kept the Pride defense on its heels. However, the home team rallied to even the score at 22, making the Seawolves work a little harder for the win. They did, scoring on back-to-back kills from freshman Greta Stenger (Woodbury, Minn.) and senior Harmonie Calinda (Huntington, N.Y.) to grab the second set, 26-24.‘ The third set did not live up to the intensity of the others. After the Seawolves grabbed an 11-10 lead, the Pride kick started a 10-1 run that pinned Stony Brook’s back to the wall. Down eight points, the Seawolves tried to battle back but could not get any closer than six, eventually dropping the set 25-18.‘ But the fourth set saw a reenergized Stony Brook team, which grabbed an 11-7 lead and seemed on pace to even the score. But the Pride battled, and the teams found themselves all tied up at 17.’ But, with the help of three kills from Calinda, the Seawolves kick started an 8-4 run that put them ahead and sealed the victory, sending the game to a fifth and deciding set.‘ The final set saw the teams go back and forth and eventually be knotted at 10-10. The Seawolves managed to build a slim 12-11 lead on a block by sophomore Kelsey Sullivan (Hamilton, Va.) and Headen, but it would be their last. The Pride strung together three crunch time kills to grab the lead, the set, and ultimately the win.‘ The Seawolves try to get back on the winning track on Friday, when they partake in the Columbia Invitational. Stony Brook faces Quinnipiac at 11:30 a.m. and Iona at 4:30 p.m.