CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – The Hood College women's volleyball team took a pair of losses against Desales University and Hunter College in a weekend trimatch, falling 3-1 and 3-2 respectively.
Set Scores
The Bulldogs beat the Blazers 25-27, 25-21, 25-22, 25-10.
Hunter College defeated Hood 19-25, 25-21, 25-12, 19-25, 15-11.
Inside the Box Score
Ann Ofoegbu (Falling Waters, W.Va./Spring Mills) got 34 kills and served up nine aces across both matches.
Maria Ricketts (Adamstown, Md./New Life Christian) finished the day with 61 assists.
Cam Madden (Carlisle, Pa./Big Spring) ended both matches with 25 digs.
How it Happened – Desales
An early rush from the Bulldogs saw them take a 6-4 lead, but the Blazers followed it up with a 9-2 run to jump into the lead. Desales stages a comeback of its own though, getting within one point at 14-13, then eventually taking the lead with fives straight points to hold a 20-19 advantage. Hood almost took the set cleanly after a kill from Ofoegbu gave it a 24-23 lead, but two straight kills flipped the score and put the Bulldogs in the driver's seat. The one-point lead did not faze the Blazers though, with the visitors taking the next three to steal the set and take a 1-0 match lead.
The second set saw both squads go on multiple runs of several straight points, but a five-point run for Desales put it ahead of Hood 11-6, and with both sides exchanging points essentially the rest of the set, the Bulldogs ended up tying the match at 1 before the Blazers could put anything together.
Although Hood carried a 10-6 lead midway through the set, Desales battled back and tied things at 12 just a bit later. After a battle to make it a 17-17 score, the Bulldogs scored the next six points to essentially ice the set and take a 2-1 match lead.
Unfortunately for the Blazers, set four was all Desales, as Hood could not get more than one point at a time while the Bulldogs would score in groups to finish the set quickly and hand the visiting Blazers a 3-1 loss.
How it Happened – Hunter College
Hood certainly did not seem to get cold after finishing the previous match, racing out to a 10-2 lead early in the first set of the second match of the day. It wasn't long before Hunter threatened though, fighting back to make it a 17-16 fight. A 6-1 run from
the Blazers swung the momentum firmly in their favor though, once again taking the early match lead.
Set two was much more even to start, with the Hawks carrying the lead but Hood constantly fighting back to tie it before using a four-point swing to take a 13-11 lead. The lead went back and forth afterwards, but an 8-2 run from Hunter late put the Blazers in a 22-18 hole they could not get out of.
The Hawks brought momentum from their set win directly into the third set, starting it off with an 11-1 run and never looking back to take a 2-1 advantage in the match.
Needing a big win to stay alive, Hood put together a 7-1 run in set four to give itself an 11-6 advantage. Despite Hunter getting close at 18-16, a 4-1 run directly following restored the comfortable lead, allowing the Blazers to take the set and force a decisive fifth set.
Although the Hawks got out to an early 5-2 lead and switched sides ahead 8-4, Hood kept its composure to try and get back into it, earning kill after kill to make it just an 11-10 deficit. That would be where the comeback ended though, with Hunter scoring four of the next five points to hand the Blazers their second loss of the day.
Up Next
Hood finally gets to play on its home court when it returns for its Dig Pink match against Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth opponent Alvernia University Tuesday, October 28 at 7 p.m.
