HARRISONBURG, Va. - Hood College dropped a pair of matches to open the season on the first day of the EMU Invitational. 

Hayley Rogers (Sandwich, Ill. / Brunswick (Md.)) had 14 kills against just a single error between the two matches and also added eight total blocks for the day.

Eastern Mennonite 3, Hood 0

Hood held leads in the first and third sets, but the Royals used runs in both sets to pick up the sweep.

Scores were 25-22, 25-13, 25-15.

Hood led 16-13 after a kill by Rogers in the first set, but an attack error started a 5-0 run that gave EMU the lead for good.  After the Royals led wire-to-wire in set two, Hood tried to battle back in the third set.  A kill by Allie Donoghue (Owings, Md. / Bishop McNamara) gave the Blazers an 8-6 advantage, but Eastern Mennonite went on a 7-0 run to regain control of the match.  

Rogers led with seven kills, five blocks and 10 points.  Ashley Park-Brouse (Myersville, Md. / Middletown) followed closely behind Rogers with six kills.  Brenna Elizondo (Littleton, Colo. / Heritage) led the team in assists with 17 and also added six digs.

Addie Roop (New Windsor, Md. / Francis Scott Key) had 13 digs, while Keesha Fields (Willow Hill, Pa. / Fannett-Metal) finished with 11.  Kathryn Jones (Newfane, N.Y. / Newfane) helped the team with two blocks.

Sara Ritchie from Eastern Mennonite led the team with 18 kills and 10 digs for a double-double.  Jasmine Johnson and Dani Driver also finished strong for EMU with 22 and 14 assists, respectively.

Goucher 3, Hood 2

Hood jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the nightcap before Goucher battled back for the win in a five-set thriller.

The Blazers trailed early in the first set before rallying for a 10-9 lead after a service ace by Fields. Hood never trailed again in the opening set, claiming the 25-22 win. In the second set, the Blazers trailed 22-14, but three service aces by Donoghue fueled a late rally that resulted in a 26-24 win.

Set three was a back and forth battle before the Gophers scored the final five points for a 25-20 win. Hood led the fourth set 22-17, but an 8-1 Goucher spurt forced a fifth set. The Gophers carried the momentum over for a 15-6 win to take the match. 

Park-Brouse led Hood during their second match of the day with nine kills and one ace for 10 points.  Roop led the team with 18 digs and Elizondo finished with 12 digs and 26 assists for a double-double.  Fields and Donoghue notched three aces each, while Kari Betson (Frederick, Md. / Frederick) added seven kills and six digs to help the team.  Rogers ended her day with seven kills and three blocks.

The Blazers look to get into the win column on Saturday, August 30 with matches against Catholic and Mary Baldwin at the EMU Invitational.