FREDERICK, Md. – The Hood College men's volleyball hosted its first trimatch since its invitational to open the season, falling 3-0 to Middle Atlantic Conference rival Eastern University, and 3-1 to out-of-conference opponent Wilson College.
Set Scores
The Eagles won 25-18, 25-7, 25-13.
Wilson defeated Hood 25-18, 25-19, 15-25, 25-13.
In the day's middle match, Eastern beat Wilson 21-25, 25-17, 25-20, 26-24.
Inside the Box Score
Charles Casas (Rehoboth Beach, Del./Cape Henlopen) led the Blazers with 24 kills on the day, 16 of them coming against Wilson.
Cameron Nugent (Manahawkin, N.J./Southern Regional) had 44 assists and 17 digs across both matches.
Nugent and
Blake Catts (Rehoboth Beach, Del./Cape Henlopen) both had four aces each on the day.
How it Happened – Eastern
Although a Nugent ace put the Blazers ahead 2-1 early in the match, after a bit of exchanging points, the Eagles put together a 13-2 run to jump ahead in the match and take a double-digit 16-6 lead. Hood made things interesting with five straight points of its own as it tried to get back into the set, but Eastern managed to hold on and take the first set and early match lead.
Another ace from Nugent looked to set the tone for the Blazers coming out into the second set, but the Eagles again wrested away any momentum that came from that with a 13-3 run. Nine straight points for the visitors would essentially ice the set though, and Hood was suddenly looking at a sweep down 2-0.
The Blazers were able to find an early spark in set three and tying it 7-7 early on, but after hanging with Eastern for a couple of points and being down just one, an 8-1 run by the Eagles made it a tough uphill battle Hood would not be able to climb up to avoid the 3-0 sweep.
How it Happened – Wilson
Despite the Phoenix putting the Blazers at an early 8-4 disadvantage, Hood would get back within one thanks to three straight points. It would continue to stay within striking distance the remainder of the set, and were down 16-13 midway through the set, but a late 5-1 run from Wilson shut the door.
On their back foot again, the Blazers played a tight game in the second set, using a Casas kill and
Ryan Elias (Washington, D.C./Washington Leadership Academy) ace to tie it 7-7 early. Although the Phoenix managed to get the next six points, Hood responded by taking the following three to stay just a step behind them. That would be as close as it would get though, as another push from Wilson late in the set ended up putting it out of reach.
Facing a potential back-to-back sweep, the Blazers kicked things into gear for set three, racing out to an 11-2 lead and stunning the Phoenix. Wilson was able to get some points back and make it a 14-9 game halfway through, but Hood quickly put a stop to any thoughts of a comeback and ended things with a 6-2 run to get on the board.
A kill from
Joel Wantz (Taneytown, Md./Francis Scott Key) kept things rolling to start the fourth set, but a 14-1 response from the Phoenix stunned the home crowd. The Blazers were unable to get anything going after that, ultimately falling in the set and losing the match 3-1.
Up Next
Hood stays home to make up its postponed match against MAC rival Stevenson Tuesday, February 24 at 7 p.m.
