FREDERICK, Md. – The Hood College women's volleyball team got off to a rough start to their 2024 campaign, as the Blazers lost both matches of their opening home tri-match, falling 3-0 to the Notre Dame of Maryland Gators and 3-1 to the Penn State Harrisburg Nittany Lions.
Set Scores
The Gators defeated the Blazers 30-28, 25-11, 25-22.
Penn State Harrisburg beat Hood College 25-18, 25-23, 14-25, 25-21.
In the day's other match, the Nittany Lions won against the Gators 3-1.
Inside the Box Score
Ann Ofoegbu (Falling Waters, W.Va./Spring Mills) ended the day with 25 kills and five service aces.
Katie Goddard (Keedysville, Md/Boonsboro) and
Madison Powell (Midlothian, Va./Manchester) both had three service aces against Penn State Harrisburg.
Ainslee Barger (Poolesville, Md./Poolesville) finished with 41 assists.
Cam Madden (Carlisle, Pa./Big Spring) totaled 32 digs across both matches.
How it Happened – Notre Dame of Maryland
The Blazers had a slow start to the first set, as the Gators jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead. After some back-and-forth between the two teams, Hood managed to get within one point before NDMU rattled off three straight points. Luckily for the Blazers, the Gators made several attack errors that brought on a run for the home team, as Hood suddenly jumped out to a 19-15 lead. Although the Blazers needed just one point for the set win with the score at 24-19, NDMU battled back with six straight points to tie
the game and force extra play, where they would eventually string together back-to-back points to take set one 30-28 for the early match lead.
The Gators brought a lot of that momentum into the second set as well, building up a 7-2 lead before putting up seven straight points to double their score. There was not much Hood could do to get any momentum back, as NDMU cruised to a 2-0 match lead as they looked for the sweep.
With their backs against the wall, the Blazers fought back in the third set as they tried to avoid the sweep, exchanging points and quick runs as the score was 15-14 in favor of the Gators. Hood would tie the match at 22, but NDMU scored the next three points to cement the sweep.
How it Happened – Penn State Harrisburg
The two squads were fairly evenly matched as they both started their second game of the day with Hood holding a slight 7-5 advantage. An 8-0 run from PSU-Harrisburg swung the momentum in their favor though, and despite Hood answering with four straight points of their own to make it 13-11, that would be as close as they would get as the Nittany Lions took a 1-0 match lead.
Hood seemed to be out for blood to start the second set, jumping out to a 7-1 lead, but Penn State Harrisburg clawed its way back to tie the set at 10. Neither team could grab a foothold for a while until the Blazers managed to put together four straight points late to take a 22-20 lead, but the Nittany Lions took five of the final six points to steal the set as Hood found itself about to be swept once again.
Needing a spark to try for a comeback, the Blazers showed a burst of energy as they raced out to a 10-3 lead. Despite PSU Harrisburg getting within four points, they could not get enough of a rally going to stop the stampeding Hood, who forced a fourth round and avoided another sweep.
The Nittany Lions held a slight 10-9 lead in part way through the fourth set, and a 4-0 run from the Blazers gave the home team the lead once again, but another run from PSU Harrisburg saw them take the lead back. Both teams entered into another back-and-forth battle to get the score to 18-18, but a 5-0 run from the Nittany Lions gave them the lead they would not relinquish, handing the Blazers their second loss of the day.
Up Next
Hood travels Westminster, Maryland for a non-conference bout against McDaniel College Tuesday, September 3 at 7 p.m.
