For Immediate Release – 10/12/16 - #081
Randolph VB Falls to Crosstown Rival

LYNCHBURG, VA – The Randolph College volleyball team hosted crosstown rival Lynchburg College on Wednesday night, falling in three sets.  The Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) match ended 18-25, 16-25, and 17-25.

The beginning of the match reflected the thriller from last season as both teams started extremely well.  The 'Cats got out to an early 5-2 lead, thanks in part to Autumn Troxell, Alex Mariona, and Kennedy Webb.  Troxell had a kill and an ace, while Mariona slammed a set from Webb and Webb served an ace as well.  LC responded as the score would eventually be tied at six (Mariona notched another kill).  The WildCats extended it to two again, before the teams traded points.  Troxell, Olivia Pullin, and Mariona helped push the advantage to 11-8 with kills.  However, the visitors responded with nine of 10 to take a five-point lead.  But the hosts would not go quietly, bringing the game within two.  Shelby Bergum killed a ball at the net, while Mariona had one and blocked an opposing attack.  Bergum continued to play well the remainder of the set, with two more kills, but Lynchburg used a well-timed run to go up 1-0.

The early parts of the second reflected the same back and forth action of the first.  Troxell had the first kill, before Mariona responded to the visitors on three occasions.  Finally, a Pullin block which was followed by a Taylor Webb ace gave the WildCats a 6-5 lead.  LC then went on a commanding run, establishing a 13-point advantage.  However, the 'Cats continued to fight with small streaks.  Mariona and Troxell recorded kills as part of 3-0 run.  The team followed it with six of nine points to cut the deficit further.  Mariona did a nice job, slamming home two sets by Brooks Gillerlain.  But the Hornets took the set soon after.

Once again, the third saw points traded early on.  Mariona had a block and a kill as Randolph took a narrow 4-3 lead.  But Lynchburg came back with another burst to build a large lead.  The 'Cats answered immediately with three in a row, thanks to kills by Troxell and Rebecca Lesnak, but Lynchburg followed suit with five straight.  Randolph called a timeout shortly after, and brought the game back to within three points.  Lesnak and Mariona each had kills, while Mariona combined with Troxell on a block.  Despite the setback, the Hornets closed out the match with a late run.

Mariona led the WildCats with 14 kills.  Gillerlain was solid as always, posting 23 assists and 10 digs in the match.  Jennifer Garrett had a match-high 15 kills for the Hornets (13-7 overall, 5-1 ODAC).

Randolph (3-16, 1-6) heads on the road for three matches this weekend.  The trip begins at Shenandoah University (10-12, 2-5) on Friday night, with the match beginning at 7 p.m.

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