FREDERICK, Md. – The Hood College men's volleyball team fell just short in a wild five-set thriller against the Wilson College Phoenix, as the Blazers were defeated 3-2.
Set Scores
The Phoenix won 17-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-22, 15-13
Inside the Box Score
A healthy Gael Bravo (Lanham, Md./Bowie High School) dished out 25 assists.
Charles Casas (Rehoboth Beach, Del./Cape Henlopen High School) led the Blazers with 22 kills and 16 digs.
Sean Seely (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage High School) and
Russell Odor (Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee) both had four blocks on the evening
How it Happened
Three straight kills by Charles Casas (Rehoboth Beach, Del./Cape Henlopen High School) put the Blazers up 7-2 to set the tone early, and a back-and-forth affair ended with service errors from Wilson before Casas sealed the deal, giving Hood the early 1-0 lead.
The Phoenix had an early advantage in the second set with a 9-5 lead, but the Blazers found some offensive momentum to tie the game up at 10 apiece. Neither team could put together any kind of run for a while, but with Wilson leading 22-19, the Phoenix went on a 3-1 run to close out the set and tie the match.
Neither team could gain solid footing in the third set, but a 6-2 run from Hood halfway through gave them a 15-10 lead, and the Blazers never looked back as a Seely kill put the Phoenix on the brink.
Hood looked to close out the match quickly in the fourth set, jumping out to a 7-2 lead early on, but Wilson did not quit, tying the game at 11. After more point-swapping saw the game even at 21, the
Phoenix finished with a 4-1 run to send the match to a decisive fifth set.
A flat start from the Blazers let Wilson take a 7-4 lead, but the home team came back to tie the game before the squads switched sides after the eighth point. Despite losing the next point, the home team took advantage of some errors to tie the game at 11. After the Phoenix scored to make it a 14-11 score, it looked like Hood might come back to force a longer set, but Wilson got their final kill to win the set 15-13 and the match 3-2.
For the Opponent
Ryan Koontz and Andrew Sviben each ended the match with 10 kills, with Sviben adding 23 assists and 14 digs.
Up Next
The Blazers travel to Aston, Pennsylvania for a rematch against Neumann University Tuesday, February 27 at 7 p.m.
