Fredericksburg, Md. -- Mount Aloysius men's volleyball fell 3-1 to the Hood College Blazers this Tuesday, January 30th. 

Leaders:

- Junior Matthew Franz (Johnstown, Ohio, Bishop Hartley) led the Mounties in kills, tallying 16 on .294 hitting. 
- Freshman Evan Schmidt (Loganville, Pa. , Dallastown Area) led the Mounties in assists with 16. 
- Sophomore Jason Freed (East Aurora, N.Y., East Aurora) earned the highest number of blocks for either team with 6. 

How It Happened: 

- Weary from travel, the Mounties opened the game slowly, struggling to find consistency and dropping into a seven point hole. 
- A block from Freed and sophomore Connor O'Mealia (North Chili, N.Y., Churchville Chili) gave the Mounties their first non-error point, putting the visitors down 3-12. 
- Picking up a few kills across the set, the Mounties faced another opponent run, with Hood rattling off seven points late to take a 24-8 lead. 
- A Hood error gave the Mounties serve back, but a final kill from the Blazers would end the lopsided set 25-9. 
- A refocused Mount Aloysius would enter the second strong, recording two quick kills from Franz to grab some early momentum. 
- Neither team could find breathing room across the set, with every mini-run immediately answered. 
- Up 22-20, the Mounties looked to close, but two Hood kills evened the set at 22. 
- Schmidt would assist on the two Mountie kills before putting the set away himself, ending the second on a kill at 25-23. 
- Carrying momentum into the third, the Mounties grabbed a quick 4-0 lead before losing the next six points, struggling to find success on the return. 
- The Mounties kept pace for a while, but a run of three kills and an ace from the hosts put the visitors down 13-16. 
- Although Mount Aloysius evened the score before the end of the set, some inopportune service errors would seal the third for Hood 25-22. 
- The final set would be the closest of the contest, despite holding two large runs for both teams. 
- Back and forth until the halfway point, the Mounties collected a seven point run behind equal parts opponent error and visitor kills. 
- Facing a four point deficit late, the Blazers would capitalize on Mountie errors to flip the score 25-24.
- Trading kills across the extra points in the set, it would be Hood who first found consecutive points, earning the 28-26 set win and the 3-1 match win. 

Into the Box Score:

- Hood's serving proved to be the difference maker, with the hosts earning six more aces than their opponents. 
- The Mounties tallied more blocks than the Blazers, picking up eight to Hood's six. 
- Both teams struggled with attacking consistently, with the hosts earning .153 team hitting while the visitors sat at .105. 

Up Next: 

- The Mounties host Hiram College this Saturday, February 3rd. The Terriers enter the contest 5-2 on the season, coming off a 2-3 loss to Adrian College.