FREDERICK, Md. – The Hood College men's volleyball team could not come away with a win in its 2026 home opener, falling to Neumann University 3-0.
Set Scores
The Knights won 25-22, 25-19, 25-16.
Inside the Box Score
Charles Casas (Rehoboth Beach, Del./Cape Henlopen) led the Blazers with 11 kills.
Cameron Nugent (Manahawkin, N.J./Southern Regional) ended the match with 15 assists.
Rafael Riberas (Ellicott City MD/Marriotts Ridge) had seven digs.
How it Happened
The opening set was hotly contested from the first serve, with Neumann getting the first point, but kills from
Ryan Elias (Washington, D.C./Washington Leadership Academy) and
Joel Wantz (Taneytown, Md./Francis Scott Key) giving Hood a temporary lead. A 5-1 run for the Blazers put them ahead 11-9, but the Knights answered with four straight points to retake the lead. Hood did manage to wrestle the advantage to their side again and go ahead 21-19, but five straight points from Neumann swung the momentum in the visitors' favor, and it would put the Blazers in a 1-0 match hole just a couple rallies later.
After a bit of back-and-forth to start the second set, the Knights began pulling away after an 8-2 run gave them a 12-6 advantage. Finding itself down 15-9 midway through, Hood tried to start a comeback with three straight points thanks to a pair of kills from
Sean Seely (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage). Both teams then exchanged a pair of points, but with the Blazers behind just 17-14, five straight points from the Knights took any momentum built up from the home team, and Hood found itself facing a sweep down 2-0 in the match.
With the team needing to get something going, the Blazers came out swinging in set three, getting out to a 5-3 lead before Neumann took it back 8-6. Kills from Casas and Elias helped restore their advantage at 9-8, but that would be the last time Hood would be ahead as the Knights went on a 7-2 run and never looked back.
For the Opponent
Trey Edmonds had 10 kills and eight digs for Neumann.
Noah Banaag finished the evening with 19 assists.
Up Next
The Blazers host an invitational with Virginia Wesleyan, Houghton, and Cairn that will go from Friday to Saturday. Their first match will be against Virginia Wesleyan Friday, January 30 at 5 p.m.
