FREDERICK, Md. – The Hood College men's volleyball team could not get the upper hand in a tri-match with Middle Atlantic Conference opponent King's College and non-conference foe Mount Aloysius College, falling 3-0 in both matches.
Set Scores
The Monarchs beat the Blazers 25-12, 25-19, 25-17.
Mount Aloysius defeated Hood 33-31, 25-16, 25-23.
Inside the Box Score
Charles Casas (Rehoboth Beach, Del./Cape Henlopen High School) led the Blazers with 22 kills on the day.
Sean Seely (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage High School) totaled four aces across both games.
Gael Bravo (Lanham, Md./Bowie High School) had the most assists with 28.
Casas and Seely both accumulated 10 digs over both matches.
How it Happened – King's College
The Monarchs got going with five straight points to start the match, building a 10-3 lead. After the Blazers made it a 14-8 deficit, King's effectively iced the set with four straight points, closing things out shortly after to take a 1-0 match lead.
Hood took its first lead in the second set with an early 5-3 advantage, but a 4-1 run from the Monarchs put them back in front. Both squads exchanged points for the next several rallies, but with the Blazers down 13-12, King's took the next five points to create a sizable advantage. Hood was not out, pulling back within two just a few points later, but another Monarchs' 5-0 run put the Blazers out of reach, falling in the second set.
Both teams played evenly to start the third set, with King's holding a slight 12-10 lead part way through. From there though, the Monarchs would score two points to every one point for Hood, eventually winning the war of attrition and sweeping the match.
How it Happened – Mount Aloysius
Set one started off all Mounties, with the visitors racing out to a 10-5 lead right away. The Blazers battled back though, chipping away small runs at a time until three straight points gave them a 17-15 lead. Another three-point run shortly after put Hood in position to take the first set as they led 21-17, but Mount Aloysius made a comeback of their own and tied things at 23.
From there, it became a battle of who wants it more, as the win-by-two rule proved to be more impactful than usual when neither squad could get that elusive second point. After Casas tied things at 31, the Mounties managed to eek out the next two points to finally end the first set and take a 1-0 lead.
After the two teams went back and forth and Hood down just 9-7, Mount Aloysius rattled off five straight points to take a commanding lead. The Blazers could not get back on track afterward, with the Mounties eventually taking the set and putting Hood on the verge of back-to-back sweeps.
Despite Mount Aloysius starting the third set strong with a 4-1 advantage, the Blazers would not go down easily, going up 9-6 and managing to maintain a three-point advantage late into the set. Unfortunately, the Mounties also refused to give up easily, getting within one at 16-15 before storming into a 21-19 lead with a five-point run shortly after. Hood kept things competitive and tied things at 23, but the next two points went to Mount Aloysius as it completed its sweep of the day.
Up Next
The Blazers hit the road for an evening MAC match against Stevenson Wednesday, March 26 at 6 p.m.
