LYNCHBURG, Va. -- Bridgewater (Va.) came into tonight in sole possession of first place in the ODAC, but Randolph took home a four-set win.

Randolph (7-4, 1-3 ODAC) never trailed in the first set, but a 20-12 lead disappeared leading to a pair of ties at 23 and 24 after a strong Bridgewater (7-5, 3-1 ODAC) comeback.

With the Eagles serving, a service error put Randolph at set point, which it converted thanks to a kill from sophomore Celine Rhodes (Barhamsville, Va./Jamestown) assisted by junior Kerry McMichael (Westminster, S.C./West Oak).

In the second frame, Randolph only trailed until 3-2, then battled back-and-forth before six straight on the service of sophomore Andrea Mewhinney (Sanford, N.C./Overhills) pulled the WildCats up 19-12 on their way to a 25-21 victory, wrapped up unceremoniously with the final point awarded on an Eagle rotation violation.

The third set belonged to the Eagles with their backs against the wall. Randolph never led, but with the WildCats down just 20-19, six points from the match, the Eagles closed out the frame to stay alive.

While the WildCats blew a 2-0 lead over these Eagles last season, they would not be denied tonight.

In the fourth set, the two teams were locked up at 9-9 when they alternated the next 14 points with consecutive side-outs.

With the set tied at 16-16, the Eagles looked to get the edge by scoring six of the next eight, forcing Randolph coach Johnathan Willis to call time out.

Out of the minute break, a pair of  Eagle attack errors and a Rhodes kill pulled Randolph within 22-21, forcing the visitors to ask for timeout after Lexi Harrington (Clemmons, N.C./West Forsyth) made a fantastic dig to keep a point alive.

The Eagles scored the next point, but an attack error pulled the WildCats back within one, staving off a potential set point.

Rhodes took over from that point.

The sophomore killed a set from senior Jordan Templin (Ferrum, Va./Franklin Co.) to level the score before joining Marissa McClinton (Bealeton, Va./Liberty-Bealeton) on a block to set up match point.

From the outside, Rhodes finished it off on the next play with a kill from McMichael setting up a triumphant celebration from the WildCat bench.

Willis spoke of his team's resolve after the match, saying, "We didn't quit, we didn't doubt ourselves and instead of thinking about what happened last year we wrote new history."

With the team typically receiving its kills from Templin, who ranks among the ODAC leaders in that category, Willis mentioned the other contributors tonight.

"It was great to see others step up tonight," he said. "Celine [Rhodes] and Marissa [McClinton] needed to have big games for us and they did."

Rhodes finished with 14 kills and four blocks, both tops for the WildCats. She hit at a .480 clip.

McClinton added 12 kills, one more than Templin, who led all participants with 17 digs.

McMichael finished with 27 assists to lead the WildCats. Her counterpart, Lindsay Kallam, had 49 assists and was key to Bridgewater staying in the match.