FREDERICK, Md. – The Hood College men's volleyball team had good runs against Houghton University and Cairn University but fell to both schools of Highlander mascots 3-1.
Set Scores
Houghton defeated Hood 25-18, 25-27, 25-16, 25-18.
Cairn downed the Blazers 21-25, 26-24, 25-15, 25-21.
Inside the Box Score
Charles Casas (Rehoboth Beach, Del./Cape Henlopen) ended the afternoon with 38 kills across both matches.
Cameron Nugent (Manahawkin, N.J./Southern Regional) had a total of 71 assists on the day.
Sean Seely (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage) led the Blazers with 21 digs in total.
How it Happened – Houghton
An ace from Nugent and a kill from
Blake Catts (Rehoboth Beach, Del./Cape Henlopen) helped put Hood ahead 3-2 in the first set of the day, but seven straight points for Houghton put the Blazers down big. They were able to do well in their comeback attempt though, as Seely and Casas both got a pair of kills and helped get the home team within 12-11. A 9-0 run from Houghton put the visitors firmly in control though, and it would eventually take the set after weathering a late Hood comeback attempt.
The Blazers played much better in the second set, recovering from an early 8-3 deficit with five straight to knot things up before taking a 17-13 lead midway through the set. The Highlanders used an 8-2 run to take the lead back, but after holding a 24-23 lead, allowed Hood to score four of the next five points and tie the match at a set apiece.
Set three saw both teams playing fairly equally to start things, but the Blazers could not keep up with Houghton's three- and four-point runs throughout the set, ultimately falling behind 2-1 in the match.
With its back against the wall, Hood came out swinging to start the fourth set with an early 5-2 lead. That lead would be short-lived though, and after an 8-2 run from the Highlanders put the Blazers behind 10-7, they would only be able to get within one
the rest of the way before falling 3-1 in the match.
How it Happened – Cairn
The second match against a Highlanders team started off better than the previous, as Hood used a 7-1 run early in the set to take a 10-6 lead. After five straight points from Cairn saw the home team fall behind 14-13, the two squads exchanged two-point bursts until the score was tied 19-19. At that point, the Blazers' offense caught fire, with a kill and an ace from Seely and a pair of kills from Casas allowed Catts to finish off a 6-2 run and take a 1-0 match lead.
It looked like Hood would cruise to another set win a few minutes later after starting the second set with a 6-2 lead, but Cairn responded with an 8-0 run to quiet the home crowd. The Blazers stayed with it though, never falling too far behind and eventually tying things up at 16. Neither team could get more than a point at a time for a while after that until suddenly Hood was on set point 24-23. The Blazers could not get that final point though, as the Highlanders took the next three points to tie the match up.
Hood seemed stunned with the result of the previous set for most of the third, as Cairn was able to use two separate six-point runs to cruise to a set win and again put the Blazers behind 2-1 in the match.
Both teams tried to find their groove to start the fourth set, with the Highlanders getting the only real run with a small five-point burst early that put Hood behind 12-7. From then on, it was essentially a war of attrition for the remainder of the set, with both teams exchanging single points or pairs of points. A late three-point streak from the Blazers got them within two at 23-21, but Cairn was able to get the next two points to claim the set and hand Hood a 3-1 loss.
Up Next
The Blazers head to the nation's capital for a match against Gallaudet University Wednesday, February 4 at 7 p.m.
