WINCHESTER, Pa. – After it looked like the Hood College women's volleyball team would end their time at the Shenandoah Invitational with back-to-back losses, the Blazers came back to reverse sweep the Mary Baldwin Fighting Squirrels 3-2 after falling to Penn State Altoona 3-1 earlier in the day.
Set Scores
Penn State Altoona defeated Hood 22-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-21.
The Blazers won against the Fighting Squirrels 22-25, 20-25, 26-24, 25-14, 16-14.
Inside the Box Score
Cam Madden (Carlisle, Pa./Big Spring) finished the day with 17 kills, 14 of which came against PSU Altoona.
Ann Ofoegbu (Falling Waters, W.Va./Spring Mills) had five service aces and 13 kills in the match against Mary Baldwin.
Madison Powell (Midlothian, Va./Manchester) racked up nine total blocks across both matches.
Ainslee Barger (Poolesville, Md./Poolesville) ended the evening with 37 total assists.
Katie Goddard (Keedysville, Md/Boonsboro) put up 31 digs during the two matches.
How it Happened – Penn State Altoona
The Nittany Lions came out roaring in the first set, jumping out to a 10-2 lead, but that did not deter the Blazers, who went on a 13-5 run of their own to tie the game at 15 before eventually taking the lead a couple points later. With PSU Altoona holding a slight 20-18 lead, Hood put together a dominant 7-2 run to steal the set and take a 1-0 match lead.
Similar to the first set, the Nittany Lions built up a sizable lead to the tune of 12-4, but this time they would keep their lead the entire set, narrowly avoiding another reversal of fortune, as the Blazers made it a 23-21 game at one point, to even the match at 1 set each.
The third set was much more even to start off, as the two squads exchanged runs and leads until they were knotted up at 16. From there, PSU Altoona took over, scoring nine of the next 11 points to comfortably take the set and put Hood on the brink.
There was no quit to the Blazers though, as they kept up with Nittany Lions the entire set, taking the lead at several points as well. With the score at 21-21 and Hood looking to force a fifth set, a quick three-point run from PSU Altoona put the Blazers in just enough of a deficit they could not come back from, handing them a 3-1 loss and their first of the weekend.
How it Happened – Mary Baldwin
The first set of the final match of the day was as volatile as they get, as neither team could maintain control for any extended period of time. Although the Blazers held a 15-13 advantage midway through the set, the Fighting Squirrels decided to go on a 7-3 run to take the lead, and despite Madden getting Hood's next three points, it was not enough to force extra play as Mary Baldwin earned the early match lead.
Set two seemed to be all Blazers at the start, as they jumped out to a sizable 10-4 lead after taking advantage of miscues on the Fighting Squirrels' side. Unfortunately, they did not have an answer when the miscues slowed down, as Mary Baldwin went on a 17-5 run to grab a lead they would not relinquish, putting Hood in danger of being swept.
Similarly to their match against Penn State Altoona, the Blazers were not going to go down without a fight, accumulating a 15-12 advantage at the midpoint of set three. Needing just one point at 24-22 to force a fourth set, the Fighting Squirrels tied them at 24,
Isabelle Garrett (Fluvanna, Va./Fluvanna) and
Sami Betley (Bel Air, Md./Mercy) were not going to let another opportunity slip away, getting the next two kills to set up another must-win set.
The rest of the squad clearly got the memo about making a comeback, as they flew through the fourth set without giving Mary Baldwin a second to realize what was happening reaching a double-digit lead at 23-13 before Garrett got the final point to force a decisive fifth set.
The Fighting Squirrels managed to regain their composure to keep up with the Blazers in the final set, and it seemed Hood's effort would be for nought when Mary Baldwin went on an 8-2 run to take a 14-11 lead and looked to put the heroic comeback on ice. Unfortunately for them, they forgot to tell Ofoegbu she and the rest of the team were supposed to lose, as she capped off an incredible five-point run with back-to-back aces to complete the reverse sweep and send the bench and Hood spectators into a frenzy in their final match of the weekend.
Up Next
The Blazers return home to face Shenandoah for their All Hood, All Blue game Thursday, September 12 at 6:30 p.m.
