ASTON, Pa. – The Hood College men's volleyball team could not battle back for a reverse sweep against Neumann University, falling 3-0 in non-conference action.
Set Scores
The Knights won 25-22, 25-21, 25-18.
Inside the Box Score
Charles Casas (Rehoboth Beach, Del./Cape Henlopen High School) led the Blazers with 10 kills.
Gael Bravo (Lanham, Md./Bowie High School) had 11 assists and eight digs on the evening.
Cameron Nugent (Manahawkin, N.J./Southern Regional) served up three aces.
Zander Kirchner (Lewisberry, Pa./Red Land) blocked down five attacks.
How it Happened
Hood got off to a slow start in set one despite scoring the first point, as Neumann rattled off a 9-1 run directly after to take a commanding lead, maintaining it halfway through the set with the score reading 16-8.
The Blazers got hot on the comeback trail shortly after, going on a 6-1 run with two aces from Nugent to make it just a 21-18 deficit. After exchanging points, Hood had its back against the wall down 24-21, and despite taking the next point, the Knights would strike again to finish the set and take a 1-0 match lead.
Set two was hotly contested, as the lead seemed to flip as soon as one team thought they were gaining momentum, as a two-point sequence for the Blazers was countered by three straight points by the Knights to take a 10-9 edge. Neumann still held a slight 17-16 edge later, and after Hood got the next point to tie the set, a Knights 4-1 run gave the home team the first three-point lead of the set. Although the Blazers made it a 22-21 affair after kills from
Sean Seely (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage High School), Neumann would get the next three kills to win the set and put Hood on the verge of being swept.
The third set did not go the Blazers' way to start, as four straight Knights' points put them ahead 9-5, and another four-point run a few rallies later put the home squad up 15-9. Hood could not figure out the Neumann defense, as it only managed a solid run when the Knights were two points from winning the match, which they found directly following the Blazers' four straight points, closing out the set and completing the 3-0 sweep.
For the Opponent
Trey Edmonds had the most kills with 13.
Noah Banaag finished the match with 31 of Neumann's 32 total assists.
Up Next
Hood looks to get back in the win column at home against Penn State Altoona for its All Hood, All Blue game Wednesday, February 19 at 7 p.m.
