DALLAS, Pa. – The Hood College men's volleyball team returned to the win column at a trimatch hosted by Misericordia, falling to the host Cougars 3-0 but finishing with a 3-1 victory over Cairn University.
Set Scores
Misericordia defeated Hood 25-13. 25-17, 25-15.
The Blazers beat the Highlanders 22-25, 25-17, 26-24, 25-23.
Inside the Box Score
Charles Casas (Rehoboth Beach, Del./Cape Henlopen) finished the afternoon with 34 kills, 27 of which came against Cairn.
Cameron Nugent (Manahawkin, N.J./Southern Regional) led the Blazers with 45 assists in the match versus the Highlanders.
Dane Lyons (Taneytown, Md/Francis Scott Key) ended his day with 12 digs.
Blake Catts (Rehoboth Beach, Del./Cape Henlopen) had a career-high 17 kills against Cairn.
How it Happened – Misericordia
Despite giving up the first two points of the match, the Blazers fought back to tie the game and keep up with the Cougars down just 6-5. A 6-1 run put Misericordia up six, and after a kill and an ace from
Ryan Elias (Washington, D.C./Washington Leadership Academy) to cut Hood's deficit, the Cougars proceeded to take the next seven points to put the set out of reach.
The Blazers were again able to keep up with Misericordia to start the second set, using kills from Casas and Catts to knot things up 4-4 early on, but the Cougars got hot with a 9-2 run. Hood answered with a small 4-1 run of its own to get within arms reach at 14-10, but both teams began trading points in a war of attrition the Blazers would not be able to come back from.
Down to its last chance, it looked like set three would be a wash from the start when Misericordia quickly went up 6-1. Hood stuck with it though, getting several points back until it was only behind two at 10-8. Unfortunately, that would be as close as the Blazers could get, as the Cougars raced away with a 9-1 run that effectively iced the set and the match.
How it Happened – Cairn
Having faced the Highlanders earlier in the season, it looked like Hood may have figured out how to beat them with Casas and Catts getting the first three kills of the match. Cairn quickly came back in response though, tying the game and then taking a 10-6 lead. Despite the setback, there was no quit in the Blazers, as they stayed within a few points for most of the set and even making a small comeback to get within a point at 19-18. Three straight points from Cairn kept Hood just out of reach though, and it would once again find itself down 1-0 in a match.
Unlike previous sets in the day, the Blazers came out swinging to start the second set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead thanks to kills from Catts. Another kill from Catts and an ace from
Joel Wantz (Taneytown, Md./Francis Scott Key) pushed that lead to 9-4, and after some back-and-forth that saw the Highlanders cut Hood's lead to just 14-12, a 7-1 run put the set out of reach, and an ace from Nugent clinched the set for the Blazers.
Cairn took the first four points of set three, but Hood fought back to hold a slight 11-9 advantage. The Highlanders then went on a 7-1 of their own and threatened to take another match lead, but the Blazers hung around and were able to use a 9-2 run to leapfrog into a 22-19 advantage. That did not stop Cairn though, and it took five of the next six points to suddenly be one away from winning the set at 24-23, but Hood was able to win the next three to force overtime and steal the set and a 2-1 match
lead.
Set four was a battle the whole way, with both teams trading runs and the lead. The Blazers managed to get out to a 10-7 advantage early, but the Highlanders responded and put them behind 16-14 shortly after. Five in a row for Hood gave it another three-point lead and looked like it could be the match-winning run, but Cairn tied it up 20-20. With every point mattering this late in the game, back-to-back points for the Blazers put them in the driver's seat, and after a service error made things tense,
Casas got the final kill they needed to clinch their first match win since the start of the season.
Up Next
Hood travels to Winchester, Virginia for a rematch against Shenandoah University Tuesday, March 31 at 7 p.m.
