Hood 3, Penn State Harrisburg 1

(26-24, 25-18, 16-25, 25-21)

Harrisburg Starters

Sheaffer, Ammerman, Waring, Wolf, Miller, Kon, Hossler (L)

Hood Starters

Belella, Ro. Reus, Zinaich, Jaque, Hutchinson, Kite, Re. Reus (L)

How It Happened

The inability to hold leads early in sets cost Penn State Harrisburg in the team's 3-1 loss to Hood at Lower Dauphin High School on Friday night, Oct. 12. The Blue & White fell by set scores of 26-24, 25-18, 16-25 and 25-21.

The Lions (9-13) jumped out to 2-0, 3-0 and 3-0 advantages in each of the first three sets but emerged victorious in just one of them. Harrisburg held a 24-20 lead late in the first game thanks to blocks by Victoria Sweatlock and Alexandra Kon but the Blazers (12-9) rallied off six points in a row to complete the comeback and take the opening set.

The home team held a 12-7 lead midway through the second game after Brittany Wolf recorded back-to-back service aces but Hood put together a momentum-shifting 12-1 run that a pair of Penn State Harrisburg timeouts was unable to slow en route to a victory in the second game.

The Blue & White finally put it all together in the third set, keeping a foot on the gas pedal and prohibiting the Blazer run that turned the tide of the first two games. The Lions jumped out to a 17-9 advantage, kept the pressure on and eventually took the set when Cheyanna Buckingham hammered home a swing off a Kristin Waring assist.

Set four was a back-and-forth affair until the midway point when Hood scored four consecutive points to go ahead 17-11. Harrisburg fought back and eventually cut the deficit to 20-18 thanks to an attack error by the Blazers but the visitors responded with four points in a row before holding off the Lions' last-ditch attempt in the closing moments.

Inside the Numbers

- Hood hit .163 as a team, while the Lions managed a .156 attack percentage.

- Service errors hurt Penn State Harrisburg, as the team misfired on 11 attempts.

- The Blue & White was solid at the net, racking up 14 total blocks.

- Brittany Wolf had a big night, hitting .429 with a team-high 11 kills, three blocks and three aces.

- Alexis Imler had eight kills, while Melanie Sheaffer and Alexandra Kon added seven apiece.

- Setter Kristin Waring racked up 37 assists on the night to go along with a match-high six aces.

- Katelyn Hossler led the way on defense, finishing with 12 digs.

- Waring and Kari Ammerman added eight digs each, while Corrinne Cook had seven of her own.

Who's Next?

The Lions return to conference play when they host York (Pa.) at the Capital Union Building on Wednesday night.

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