Box Score 1 |
Box Score 3 The Hood College men's volleyball team split a tri-match between Immaculata University and Thiel College, coming back to beat the Mighty Macs 3-2, but being swept by the Tomcats 3-0.
Set Scores
The Blazers defeated the Mighty Macs 25-20, 22-25, 23-25, 25-21, 15-12.
Thiel College beat Hood 25-16, 25-17, 25-11.
In the middle match, Thiel swept Immaculata 25-13, 25-14, 25-16.
Inside the Box Score
Charles Casas (Rehoboth Beach, Del./Cape Henlopen High School) ended the day with 29 kills.
Cameron Nugent (Manahawkin, N.J./Southern Regional) led the team with 42 assists.
Sean Seely (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage High School) finished the afternoon with four aces and 21 digs.
How it Happened – Immaculata University
The first set started off evenly as neither team could gain any momentum, but with Immaculata leading 13-11, Hood went on an 8-3 run to take the biggest advantage of the set. Although the Macs managed to cut the lead down to just 19-18, the Blazers got six of the last eight points and took the early 1-0 lead after a Nugent kill.
The second set was all about runs, with Immaculata going on a 4-0 run after each team had scored five points, and Hood following that with a 6-1 run to take a slight lead. The Macs then went on their own 5-0 run, carrying that momentum through the rest of the set to tie the match up at 1-1.
Immaculata started the third set with a 4-2 lead, but a 6-0 Hood run gave the Blazers an 8-4 advantage, at which point both teams exchanged points for several rallies until the a 5-1 run from the Macs tied the set at 13. Both sides were evenly matched the rest of the way, but Immaculata took advantage of some late miscues from Hood to take a 2-1 lead.
The two squads were again even competitors with the Blazers on the brink, going tit-for-tat with each other all the way to an 18-18 score line. Hood figured out their offensive power though, trailblazing a 5-0 run capped off by a red card sanction on Immaculata's head coach, and the Blazers got the final two points they needed to force a decisive fifth set.
Hood started the tiebreaker set with a bang on an 8-3 run before they switched sides, but the Macs would not go down without a fight, answering with a 7-0 run to jump into the lead. This ended up jumpstarting the Blazers' offense, with kills from Seely and
Jaden Wilkins (Saegertown, Pa./Saegertown) powering Hood to a 15-12 match-clinching win.
How it Happened – Thiel College
Hood got the first two points of the first set, but Thiel stormed past with a 14-4 run. Despite seemingly being evenly matched later in the set, the sides played a war of attrition that the Tomcats were happy to go along with to take the early 1-0 lead.
Despite starting the second set off in an 11-5 hole, the Blazers found a spark to start a comeback, shrinking their deficit to just 14-13 after a kill from
Russell Odor (Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee), but Thiel quickly swung the momentum back to their side with a 10-2 run before finishing off the set to go for the sweep.
The third set started off similarly to the second as Hood found themselves in a 9-3 disadvantage. There would be no comeback attempt this time, though, as the Tomcats kept their foot on the gas and completed the sweep.
Up Next
The Blazers head to Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania for a rematch against Elizabethtown College Tuesday, February 13 at 8 p.m.
