CHESTER, Pa. – The Hood College men's volleyball team came away even in a tri-match at Middle Atlantic Conference opponent Widener, falling 3-0 to the Pride but sweeping Immaculata 3-0 in their second match.
Set Scores
The Pride beat the Blazers 25-19, 25-9, 25-19.
Hood downed Immaculata 25-23, 25-22, 25-20.
Inside the Box Score
Charles Casas (Rehoboth Beach, Del./Cape Henlopen High School) led the Blazers with 19 kills across both matches.
Sean Seely (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage High School) combined for four aces on the day.
Gael Bravo (Lanham, Md./Bowie High School) totaled 23 assists over the afternoon, including 15 in game two.
Jayceon White (Milton, Del./Cape Henlopen) dug out seven balls against Immaculata.
How it Happened – Widener
The Pride looked like they would run away with the first set of the day quickly, jumping out to a 12-3 lead, but a 6-1 run from the Blazers shrunk the lead to just 13-9. Although Hood managed to make it a four-point game late at 21-17, Widener's lead was too much to overcome as it took the first set and the match lead.
Set two started off similarly to the first, with the Pride racing to a 12-6 lead, but this time there would be no comeback attempt from the Blazers, as Widener quickly went up 2-0 and looked to sweep.
Hood came out swinging with its back against the wall, taking the first two points of the game with a kill from Casas and ace from Bravo. It held onto the lead for a bit before a 4-0 run from the Pride gave them an 8-7 lead. The Blazers stayed with the play though, sitting just two points behind at 17-15 midway through the set. Unfortunately, Widener controlled play from that point on, going up big with a 6-1 run before getting the last two points needed to win in straight sets.
How it Happened – Immaculata
The first set was back-and-forth the whole way, with Hood going down 2-0 right away, but answering that with a four-point run led by Casas. Neither team could hold onto too much of a lead, as the Blazers were ahead just 15-14 through the midpoint of the set. Kills from Casas and
Zander Kirchner (Lewisberry, Pa./Red Land) put them up 23-21, and despite the Macs tying things up, Hood took the next two points to avoid overtime and take the important 1-0 match lead.
Both squads exchanged point-after-point to start set two, but with the Blazers holding a 13-10 edge, Immaculate went on a 4-0 run to suddenly pull ahead. Hood was unfazed, working quickly to regain a 19-18 advantage, and with the game tied at 20, the Blazers' offense came alive, as a kill and ace from
Brendan Stutz (Frederick, Md./Oakdale) helped spark a 5-2 run to win the set and put themselves in position for a sweep of their own.
Hood got off to a 5-2 start in the third set and maintained it well, staying around four points ahead for the majority of the set. Although the Macs got within one point to make it 17-16 late, the Blazers regained their composure and returned to a multi-point advantage, winning four of the final five points to finish their day with a 3-0 sweep.
Up Next
Hood returns home for its final conference match of the season against Stevens Thursday, April 3 at 5 p.m.
