FREDERICK, Md. – The Hood College men's volleyball team did not have the start it was looking for in their season-opening tri-match against Elizabethtown College and Randolph College, as the Blazers were swept 3-0 in both matches.
Inside the Box Score
Charles Casas (Rehoboth Beach, Del./Cape Henlopen High School) finished the day with 19 kills and two blocks.
Gael Bravo (Lanham, Md./Bowie High School) ended the afternoon with 27 assists.
Jayceon White (Milton, Del./Cape Henlopen) had 10 digs against Elizabethtown.
Set Scores
Hood fell to Elizabethtown 25-22, 25-18, 25-18.
The Blazers lost to the Wildcats 25-19, 25-21, 25-22.
In the day's middle match, Elizabethtown beat Randolph 15-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-27, 15-12.
How it Happened – Elizabethtown College
Although Hood had an early 8-6 lead over Elizabethtown in the first set, a 10-2 run by the Blue Jays gave them a sizable advantage more than halfway through the set, and although the Blazers went on a 7-1 run late to get within three points,
Elizabethtown was able to gather themselves and close out the set to take a 1-0 match lead.
The second set was tightly contested for most of it, as despite the Blue Jays jumping out to a 12-6 lead early, Hood would go on a 5-2 run to get within three. Despite keeping themselves within an arm's length from tying things up, the set would finish quickly when Elizabethtown ended things with four straight points to put themselves in position for a sweep.
Needing to find a spark to stay alive, the Blazers fell behind 6-2 to start set three. Hood could not seem to find anything to get a rally going, as the Blue Jays would inch closer and closer by scoring two points for every one the Blazers would come up with, with a home team service error ending the first match 3-0 in favor of Elizabethtown.
How it Happened – Randolph College
The squad did not get the start they wanted in the first set of their match against Randolph College either, as the Wildcats raced out to a 6-1 lead, and although Hood got within four points shortly after, the closest they would get to tying it the rest of the set was three points, with Randolph cutting a three-point run short to put the Blazers behind 1-0.
Hood found itself trailing again in set two, with the Wildcats working their way to a 9-3 advantage early. After exchanging a few points, the Blazers started to cut their deficit away, going on a 4-1 run midway through the set to make it an 18-16 game.
Unfortunately, they could not get over that two-point hurdle the rest of the way, going back and forth with Randolph again until the Wildcats eventually finished the set and put the home team on the verge of being swept again.
It seemed early in the third set that Hood would not get swept twice in a row, as the Blazers started things off with a 7-4 lead. They would maintain around a three-point margin for a majority of the set thanks to kills from
Sean Seely (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage High School) and Casas and timely miscues from Randolph, but a three-point run late in the set tied things up at 20. Although Hood broke the tie by getting the next point, it seemed they had used up too much energy in the first half of the set, as the Wildcats scored five of the next six to win both the set and the match.
Up Next
The Blazers head to Virginia Beach, Virginia for a weekend invitational against Virginia Wesleyan, St. Norbert College, and Barton College. The first two games against Virginia Wesleyan and St. Norbert will be played Friday, January 24 at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
