Dallas, Pa. -- Mount Aloysius defeated the Hood College Blazers but fell to the Misericordia Cougars in this weekend's tri match. 


Leaders: 

- Junior Matthew Franz (Johnstown, Ohio, Bishop Hartley) led the Mounties in kills with 21 across both games. 
- Freshman Evan Schmidt (Loganville, Pa. , Dallastown Area) led the Mounties in both assists (44) and digs (18) across the seven sets of action. 
- Junior Tayshaun Johnson (Uniondale, N.Y., Uniondale) led the Mounties in service aces with six. 

Game One (Hood):

How It Happened:

- Errors abounded on both sides of the net in the first set, with the Mounties finally putting kills together late to go up 19-16 going into the final stretch. 
- Executing late, the Mounties would earn 4 kills en route to a six point run, closing the set 25-16. 
- The Mounties looked poised to maintain the first set momentum, taking a 5-2 lead behind 4 early kills. 
- Issues with consistency and service returns suddenly sprang up in full, as the Mounties would drop 10 of the next 11 points to fall behind 12-6. 
- Refocusing, the Mounties would put together their own run a few points later, flipping the score from 9-14 to 16-14 behind an equal share of kills and opponent errors. 
- Ultimately, struggles with consistency would seal the set for the Blazers, who evened proceedings with a 25-21 second. 
- A nearly identical inverse of the previous set, Hood would take an early 5-2 lead before a Mountie run would flip the score to a 8-5 visitor advantage. 
- Unable to put together a meaningful string of points, Hood would watch as the Mountie lead gradually increased, leading to a 25-18 third set for Mount Aloysius. 
- Inspired by the 2-1 lead, the Mounties would play strong in the fourth, finding consistency as Hood struggled to attack meaningfully. 
- Two final Hood errors would give the Mounties the 25-16 victory, avenging the team's loss earlier this season. 

Into the Box Score:

- The Mounties earned 12 more kills than the Blazers for the contest. 
- Both teams earned six aces and five blocks across the four sets of action. 

Game Two (Misericordia): 

How It Happened: 

- Although carrying some energy from the previous win, the Mounties were immediately faced with a much more potent offense than the previous contest. 
- The Cougars came out firing, taking the early 13-5 lead with no signs of slowing down. 
- Misericordia found great success serving, earning three aces across the final few points to take the first 25-13. 
- The second would not go much better for the Mounties, who found themselves in a 15-5 hole while still struggling massively on the return of serve. 
- Winning eight of the final ten points of the set, Misericordia would take the second by a commanding 15 point deficit. 
- Adjusting to their opponent's pace, the Mounties would start the third strong, keeping pace with the Cougars. 
- Even at 21, the Mounties would face firm late set execution from their opponents, who delivered 2 kills to go up 23-21. 
- Fittingly, the Cougars would put away the third with a service ace, ending the match with the 25-22 win.

Into the Box Score:

- Misericordia delivered 14 more kills than the Mounties for the game. 
- The serve disparity was clear between the teams as the Cougars would earn 15 aces to the Mounties 6. 
- Strong at the net, Misericordia would block six more attacks than the Mounties.

Up Next: 

- Mount Aloysius men's volleyball heads to Wilkes-Barre for another tri-match next weekend, taking on Lehman and Wilkes on February 24th.