CHESTER, Pa- The Hood College women's volleyball took to the road on Wednesday evening to face off against conference foe Widener University and swept the Pride to earn their first overall and conference win of the year.
Set Scores
Hood won 25-19, 25-16, 25-22.
Inside the Box Score
Tara Gosney (Centreville, Pa./Centreville) led the Blazers in kills with 11, while teammate
Cam Madden (Carlisle, Pa./Big Spring) tallied 10.
Maria Ricketts (Adamstown, Md./New Life Christian) had 16 assist.
Janiyah Thornton (Waldorf, Md./Southern Maryland Christian Academy) had a season high in a match for blocks with eight.
Meara Mason (Easton, Pa./Easton Area) had eight digs.
How it Happened
Hood jumped out to an early 4-1 lead to start set one, after
Maria Ricketts (Adamstown, Md./New Life Christian) would find teammate
Cam Madden (Carlisle, Pa./Big Spring). The Pride battled back into it and made 4-4. The teams would trade points back and forth and Widener held a slight 11-9 advantage over Hood. Later in the set,
Tara Gosney (Centreville, Pa./Centreville) earned the kill to give the Blazers a 17-15 lead. Hood found some momentum after the Gosney kill, and went on a small run to now lead the Widener 22-16. The Pride tried there very best to battle back into it but the Blazers would go up 1-0 in the match after a 25-19 win in set one.
The Pride went up 3-1 to start set two, but the Blazers had an early set two run to earn the lead 5-3. The score was knotted at eight but
Anna Huber (Bel Air, Md./Greater Grace Christian Academy) set up
Sami Betley (Bel Air, Md./Mercy) and gave Hood a slight one point advantage.
Kendall Massey (Upper Marlboro, Md./Largo) joined the fun with a service ace as the Blazers now led 10-8. Hood was played with fire and
Cam Madden (Carlisle, Pa./Big Spring) added fuel to the flame with a kill and gave the Blazers a 13-9 lead. The momentum stayed in favor of the Blazers and soon enough they were able to extend their lead to 20-11. The Pride stopped the bleeding with a kill of their own, and tried to answer with another one, but
Janiyah Thornton (Waldorf, Md./Southern Maryland Christian Academy) stood tall in the middle for Hood and earned a block. With time running out on Widener for a late run, and the momentum with the Hood, The Blazers would go up two sets to none after a 25-16 win.
With the Blazers seeking their first win of the season and the sweep, they knew they were going to get the Pride's best shot. Hood found themselves down 6-3. The Blazers resilience was on fully display as they were not deterred by the deficit and battled back into to take the lead, as the score was 9-7. Hood went up 11-8 after a
Meara Mason (Easton, Pa./Easton Area) service ace.
Madison Powell (Midlothian, Va./Manchester) helped the Blazers maintain the lead with a kill, as it was now 13-10. Widener fought to stay in contention with Hood and was able to tie the score at 13 and then go up by one.
Maria Ricketts (Adamstown, Md./New Life Christian) set the ball to teammate
Mary LeBlanc (Suffolk, Va/Stonebridge) and later
Cam Madden (Carlisle, Pa./Big Spring) for kills as the score was knotted at 16-16. Late in the set, Widener went up 19-16, but Hood stayed poised and tied it back up 19-19. The teams traded points, and the Blazers went up 23-20 as they looked to shut the door on the Pride. Hood finished strong and was able to pull off the sweep of Widener with a 25-22 win in set three.
For the Opponent
Sophia Schultz led the Pride with 11 kills.
Campbell Chronister tallied 16 assist for Widener.
Analysis
Hood held the advantage in blocks with nine.
The Blazers edged the Pride in assist 32-20.
Notes
Hood earns their first overall and conference win of the season.
Up Next
The squad will be back in action back at home Tuesday, September 29, at 7 PM as they take on the Lions of Albright College for their Morgan's Message game.
