FREDERICK, Md. - The Hood College women's volleyball team showed out in their Dig Pink game, as
Ann Ofoegbu (Falling Waters, W.Va./Spring Mills) set the program record for kills in a match with 31, leading the Blazers to a thrilling 3-2 victory over St. Mary's College of Maryland.
Set Scores
The Blazers won 22-25, 28-26, 25-18, 19-25, 15-12.
Inside the Box Score
Ofoegbu finished the match with 31 kills.
Molly McGraw (Forest Hill, Md./Concordia Prep) totaled 12 digs.
Madison Powell (Midlothian, Va./Manchester) led the Blazers with four aces and five blocks.
How it Happened
The match started off with a slug-fest of a first set, as neither team could get more than a couple points of a lead before the other came back to take it. As Hood held a late 21-19 lead, St. Mary's took the next four points and force head coach
Katie Barnett to use both timeouts in quick succession. Despite Ofoegbu ending the Seahawks' run with a kill in the next rally, they would take the next two points to close out the set and put the Blazers down 1-0 early.
Hood got back into things to start the second set, building up a 13-8 lead thanks in part to a handful of kills from Cam Madden (Carlisle, Pa./Big Spring). St. Mary's was not going to give up their match lead easily though, putting together a six-point streak a few minutes later to surge ahead 18-16. After the Blazers tied it at 19 though, the teams began exchanging points until they were forced to go past the normal 25 points required to win. Down 26-25, Hood got the set's next three points thanks to two kills from Ofoegbu to take the set and tie the match 1-1.
After an early back-and-forth to start set three saw the Blazers with a 7-6 edge, Hood went on a monster 9-1 run to take command of the set, and despite St. Mary's outscoring them late in the set, they were unable to threaten the Blazers' lead before they finished the set and took a 2-1 match lead.
The fourth set did not have the start Hood was looking for with a chance to close out the match, as the Seahawks quickly put the home team at a 10-4 disadvantage. St. Mary's then jumped out to the match's first double-digit lead at 16-6, and despite the Blazers managing to get within four late, they could not stop the Seahawks from forcing a decisive fifth set.
Despite Hood leaping out to a 5-0 lead, St. Mary's seemed to come back and tie the game just as fast, evening things at 8 just after the teams switched sides. With a kill from
Katie Goddard (Keedysville, Md/Boonsboro) helping put the Blazers up 13-12, back-to-back kills from Madden sealed the win and sent the home crowd into a frenzy with a 3-2 win.
For the Opponent
Julia Bobrowski ended the evening with 22 kills for the Seahawks.
Ariella Lubeck picked up 28 assists.
Up Next
Hood goes back on the road, this time headed to Washington, D.C. for a tri-match against Catholic and Rowan University at 2 and 4 p.m.
