FREDERICK, Md. – The Hood College men's volleyball team capped off its 2025 season with a tri-match against Immaculata University and Eastern Mennonite University, coming back to reverse sweep the Mighty Macs 3-2, but falling 3-0 to the Royals.
Set Scores
Hood defeated Immaculata 24-26, 14-25, 25-18, 25-18, 15-11.
The Blazers fell to the Royals 25-17, 25-13, 25-14.
In the day's middle match, EMU defeated Immaculata 25-10, 25-15, 25-15.
Inside the Box Score
Charles Casas (Rehoboth Beach, Del./Cape Henlopen High School) led Hood with 31 kills on the day.
Gael Bravo (Lanham, Md./Bowie High School) totaled 29 assists across both matches.
Jayceon White (Milton, Del./Cape Henlopen) accumulated 14 digs after the two matches.
Sean Seely (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage High School) served up three aces against Immaculata.
How it Happened – Immaculata
The Blazers started off hot in the first set, jumping out to a 7-2 lead with nearly everyone on the court getting a kill. The Macs would not go down easily though, coming back to tie the game at 10-10. Hood held a slight 15-12 lead midway through the set and extended it to 20-14 to put themselves in prime position to win the set. Unfortunately, Immaculata put its comeback boots on once more, going on an 8-2 run to tie things at 22.
Although Hood was one point away from winning the set at 24-23, the Macs stormed back with three straight points to steal the set and go up 1-0 in the match.
Set two was a dogfight off the bat, with both teams exchanging both runs of multiple points and the lead often. A kill from Casas tied the game at 10, but a 7-2 run by Immaculata put the Blazers in a tough hole. Seely picked up both a kill and an ace to cut their deficit to just 17-14, but the Macs would score the next eight points to suddenly take the set and put Hood in danger of being swept on senior day.
Hood got off on the right foot with their backs against the wall by winning the first three points of the third set, but things once again turned into a back-and-forth affair as the squads battled to an 11-11 tie. From then, it was all Blazers, with
Blake Catts (Rehoboth Beach, Del./Cape Henlopen) getting four kills and an ace in a 6-2 Hood run, only being broken up by a
Brendan Stutz (Frederick, Md./Oakdale) kill. Immaculata would not score more than one point in a row from then on, as the Blazers closed out the set and started a spark as they were down 2-1 in the
match.
Set four saw Hood continue to ride the momentum it had built last set, jumping out to a 12-6 lead immediately. After the teams exchanged points to make it a 17-10 affair. Immaculata made a comeback attempt of their own with a 5-2 run, but the Blazers took advantage of unforced errors with Seely ending the set with an ace to tie the match at 2-2 and force a decisive fifth set.
It looked like Hood might have had too much adrenaline going into the final set, as the Macs took an early 4-1 lead, but after a timeout from head coach
Katie Barnett, the Blazers looked just like they had before as they took a 6-5 lead.
Immaculata tried to throw water on Hood's fire with a 4-1 run to take a 9-7 advantage, but the Blazers responded with their own gasoline, going on a 7-1 tear to take it to match point. The Macs managed to get one more point from the next rally, but a
Catts kill ignited the home crowd as Hood completed the reverse sweep.
How it Happened – EMU
The Royals gave the Blazers no room to breathe from the start of the first set, scoring the first six points and forcing an early timeout from Hood. Although the Blazers took four of the next five points to make it a 7-4 game, EMU responded with an 8-3 run to widen the gap. Despite Hood getting four straight points, it could not match the Royals' offense as the visitors took a 1-0 match lead.
Set two started in favor of EMU and stayed that way, with the Blazers in a 15-9 deficit midway through, and unable to get any closer. The Royals took a 2-0 lead in the match after scoring the final five points of the set.
Hood battled back from an early 7-2 deficit in the third set to get within two points at 8-6, but a 9-1 run from EMU took the wind out of the Blazers' sails, stranding them at sea as the Royals completed the sweep and stopped Hood from having an undefeated day.
Notes
The Blazers' victory over Immaculata marked the team's most wins in a season since the program began in 2023.
Up Next
Hood will return next spring for the 2026 season.
