STAUNTON, VA — The Randolph College volleyball team started its season on the right foot, as the young WildCats knocked off Mary Baldwin College in straight sets Thursday in non-conference action with scores of 25-17, 25-15, and 25-18.

The win was the second consecutive season that the WildCats (1-0) opened the season with a win over Mary Baldwin, and it also marked the third win in the last four contests against the Fighting Squirrels. In the first set, the WildCats jumped out to an early 5-1 lead, an advantage it would push up to an 11-point spread at 21-10.

After the Fighting Squirrels (0-1) cut the lead to 23-17, the WildCats put the first set in the bag thanks to back-to-back points, highlighted by a game-winning kill from first-year Jordan Templin (Ferrum, VA/Franklin Co.).

In the second stanza, the WildCats hit the ball very well posting a hitting percentage of .304 while holding their hosts to -.040 hitting from the floor. Randolph posted nine kills in the game en route to a 25-15 win, as Templin, first-year Grayce Darden (Martinsville, VA/Martinsville) and junior Sam Sublett (Bedford, VA/Staunton River) each had a pair of kills.

In the deciding third game, Randolph won seven of the game's first nine points. Mary Baldwin battled back to trim the lead to three at 12-9, but Randolph went on a 9-1 run highlighted by the super serving from Darden, who delivered five service aces on the evening. First-year Tori Lange (Riverside, CA/Patriot) put a bow on the proceedings, ending the match with a kill with help from fellow newcomer Kerry McMichael (Westminster, SC/West Oak).

Templin finished with a team and game-high eight kills, finishing eight of her 14 attempts to go with six digs. Sublett posted four kills as well for Randolph, while McMichael chalked up 15 assists on the evening. Sophomore Caitlin Glennen (Knoxville, TN/Karns) had a team-best seven digs, and first-year middle Shana Nelson (Colombia, MD/Wilde Lake) had two blocks and helped force 22 attack errors by MBC.

Kharla Bethea led the Fighting Squirrels with seven kills, and Tiffany Flesher chalked up six kills in two games of action. Candace Pettway had a game-high 15 digs in the contest.

Randolph is back in action Saturday afternoon in Winchester, VA as it battles Hood College at 1 p.m. and Shenandoah University at 3 p.m. in a non-conference tri-match at Shenandoah.

###