(FREDERICK, Md.) – The Wilson men's volleyball team split a busy weekend as it fell to Eastern before bouncing back to defeat hosting Hood in a tri-match on Saturday. The Phoenix opened the day well with a first set win before dropping the following three to the Eagles, but controlled the tempo from the start to score the win against the Blazers.
The Basics
Scores: Match 1 – Wilson 1, Eastern 3 (21-25, 17-25, 20-25, 24-26)
Match 2: Wilson 3, Hood 1 (25-18, 25-19, 15-25, 25-13)
Venue: Volpe Athletic Center
Records: Wilson 7-4, Eastern 9-8, Hood 1-9
How It Happened (Match 1)
- The start of the day saw Wilson and Eastern battle even through the first 20 points before an 8-1 run put the Eagles up 18-12. The Phoenix immediately got back into the frame with a 7-0 push that featured a pair of Jackson Wolfe (So., Abbottstown, Pa. / New Oxford) kills and an ace from Ryan Koontz (Jr., York Haven, Pa. / Red Land). After Eastern tied the game at 19 and 20, Jacob McCoy (XXX) put the Blue and White up for good with a kill. Wolfe followed with an ace, McCoy downed another kill, Satvik Sharma (So., Hummelstown, Pa. / Hershey) made a block, and an Eagles error put Wilson up 1-0.
- Eastern saw another mid-game push to take a 17-12 lead and this time it didn't relent. The Eagles eventually pushed its advantage up 21-13 en route to evening the overall match. That momentum shift powered into the third where Eastern jumped out to a 10-2 lead. While the Phoenix made a late-game run, they couldn't overcome the deficit.
- Set 4 saw Wilson nearly force a fifth. Back-to-back kills from McCoy left Wilson with a 16-14 lead before Eastern answered with a 5-0 run. The Phoenix eventually bounced back to take a 21-20 lead and served for game point after a kill from Koontz. Eastern had other ideas and closed the match with three-straight kills from Kaodi Wokocha.
How It Happened (Match 2)
- Wilson opened up a 7-3 lead at the start with Demetrius Simmons (Sr., Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Mechanicsburg) leading the way on a pair of kills and an ace. Hood eventually got within one, but Wilson countered with a Koontz kill and a pair of blocks to go up 16-11. After Hood scored the next two, McCoy and Scotty Zorn (FY, York, Pa. / Dallastown) got Wilson back on track with kills. The Phoenix closed the set on a 5-1 run with two Simmons kills sandwiched around three Sharma aces.
- The Blazers stayed even through the first 16 points until the Phoenix separated with a 6-0 run. Max Bernier (FY, Gettysburg, Pa. / Gettysburg) and Elijah Carter (FY, Glassboro, N.J. / Glassboro) started the rally with a block. Vincent Natale (Sr., Mt. Airy, Md. / Linganore) added to it with an ace while Zorn got in on the action with a kill. Wes Reall Jr. (FY, Carlisle, Pa. / Big Spring) made it 20-14 after consecutive aces, while kills from Carter and Marston down the stretch made it 2-0 Wilson.
- Little went right in a third set for the Phoenix as Hood stayed alive, but the fourth was back to formality for Wilson with a dominating 14-2 start that saw kills from Simmons and Marston. The Phoenix cruised from there and didn't allow the Blazers to get within single digits again.
Inside The Numbers
- Wolfe had a monster match in the opener with a blistering 17 kills on 38 attempts for an attack percentage of .316. It was his third match in a row with at least 14 and sixth in double digits this season.
- Simmons and McCoy both had a solid day between both matches with each recording 13 combined kills and three blocks.
- Sharma quarterbacked the squad for most of the day with 51 combined assists. The total put the sophomore setter over 1,000 for his career.
- Camden Sterner (Jr., Spring Grove, Pa. / Spring Grove) recorded 11 digs in the opener while Adan Rodriguez-Sapien (Jr., Newport News, Va. / Woodside) picked up 10 in the second.
Up Next
The stretch of road contests continues for the Phoenix who head to Wilkes on Wednesday. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
