HEMPSTEAD, NY -- Kelly Gibson reached the 1,000-kill plateau as she led the University of Delaware volleyball team to a 3-1 (31-29, 23-30, 30-23, 30-23) victory over Hofstra at the Volleyball Venue in the Physical Fitness Center on Friday night.

The victory marked the first time ever that Delaware (20-3, 5-1 CAA) defeated Hofstra in Hempstead. Entering the match, the Hens had lost their last five meetings with the Pride and 17 of the last 19 dating back to 1998.

During the match, Gibson (at right) became just the 12th player in Delaware history to record 1,000 career kills. She was the first to reach the century mark since Colleen Walsh accomplished the feat last season against Towson.

Walsh and Gibson are now the first teammates to have 1,000 career kills at the same time since the end of the 1999 season when Joanna Dusza and Jennifer Wanner both reached the milestone.

Gibson finished the contest with a match-high 20 kills. She also extended her double-double streak to six matches after posting 20 digs as well. It was the first 20/20 performance by a Blue Hen since Gibson had 25 kills and 24 digs against Hofstra in the CAA semifinals last season.

Throughout the match, Delaware held strong against the defending CAA champions. The Hens posted a .247 team attack percentage and had six fewer attack errors than the Pride.

In the first game of the match, Delaware fell behind late and trailed 25-20 before calling a timeout. Following the break, the Hens regrouped and scored the next four points. After Hofstra rallied to extend its lead to 27-25, Delaware came back to tie the game at 27.

Following a Hofstra timeout, Michelle LaLonde put Delaware ahead with two service aces. Once the Pride knotted the game at 29, Colleen Walsh came back to seal the victory with back-to-back kills.

During the second game, the Hens battled to a 3-3 tie before the Pride scored seven straight points. Although Delaware cut into the lead and eventually brought the deficit to just three at 16-13, Hofstra pulled away late, winning by a 30-23 margin.

In the third set, the Hens jumped out to an early 13-7 lead. The Pride fought back, scoring 12 of the next 18 points to tie the game at 19. However, Delaware held off Hofstra, never surrendering the lead in a 30-23 victory.

Delaware once again came out strong in the final frame, grabbing a 16-4 lead. Although Hofstra battled back in the waning moments of the game, the Hens cruised to a 30-23 victory.

Colleen Walsh notched 18 kills in the contest, while Michelle LaLonde added 11 and a match-high four service aces.

Megan Welch continued her strong season, posting a team-high 58 assists to go along with 11 digs. Stephanie Barry added a team-high 21 digs, while freshman Paige Erickson had 10 blocks. It was the third time this season that she tallied 10 or more blocks in a contest.

Hofstra (11-9, 3-3) was led by Shellane Ogoshi, who had 50 assists and 21 digs. Lauren Engle added 18 digs and a team-high 13 kills, while Amanda Beyersdorff chipped in with nine kills and five blocks.

With the win, the Hens have now won 20 matches for the third time since head coach Bonnie Kenny took over the program in 2002. Prior to that, Delaware had not won 20 matches in a season since 1997.

The Blue Hens return to action on Sunday at 1 p.m. when they travel to Boston to face Northeastern.

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