WINCHESTER, Va. – A strong defensive effort by the Randolph College volleyball team helped the WildCats to a 3-2 (25-19, 18-25, 25-14, 15-25, 17-15) Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) win over host Shenandoah University on Friday evening in Shingleton Gymnasium.

The WildCats improve to 8-12, 3-6 ODAC and are back in action tomorrow when they travel to DeSales University for a tri-match with Arcadia University and the host Bulldogs. First match is set for 3 p.m.

With an even 3-all score in the opening set, the WildCats jumped ahead to an 8-3 margin off of a 5-0 run that was capped off by a Shelby Bergum (Terrebonne, Ore./Redmond) kill. After a brief timeout called by the Hornets, Shenandoah responded with a 6-0 spurt to take the lead and soon both teams were battling for control of the score. Although Shenandoah would grab an 18-17 edge over the WildCats, Randolph rattled off a 3-0 run to take the lead before pushing 5-1 run capped off with a kill by Lauren Morgan (Bedford, Va./Liberty) to take the set, 25-19.

In the second set, Shenandoah managed to grab a 5-3 edge over the WildCats but Randolph would slowly chip away at the Hornets' lead to eventually jump out with a 12-11 advantage. After a slight back-and-forth battle that leveled the score to 16-all, Shenandoah pushed a 6-0 run for a 22-16 lead and forced Randolph to call a timeout. Coming out of the break, the Hornets never let up the offensive pressure and capped off the set with a 25-18 win to tie the match.

Randolph stormed ahead to a 19-9 margin in the third frame and extended its lead further to 23-12. Although the Hornets would slice the deficit to 24-14, Autumn Troxell (Front Royal, Va./Warren County) delivered the final kill to make a 2-1 advantage for the WildCats.

Shenandoah grabbed a 9-6 lead over the WildCats in the fourth set but Randolph pushed a 3-0 burst to level the score. The Hornets quickly found their momentum and managed to storm ahead to a comfortable 20-12 margin. Shenandoah took a brief timeout after the WildCats had sliced the deficit to 20-14 but the Hornets sealed the set on a 5-1 spurt to send the match into a fifth set.

The deciding set saw Randolph secure an early 5-1 lead but the Hornets were not far behind as they quickly closed the gap to 6-5. Although the WildCats were able to extend their lead to 9-6, the Hornets responded with a 3-0 run to tie the score before pushing a 4-2 spurt to jump ahead, 13-11. However, the WildCats pushed a 3-0 run of their own to grab a 14-13 edge. The Hornets would level the score to 15-all but Randolph would land the final two points to seal the deciding set 17-15, taking home its third ODAC win of the season.

Defensively, the WildCats recorded 92 digs with Kennedy Webb (Nassawadox, Va./Northampton) recording a team-high 22 digs while Mackenzie Ambrose (Floyd, Va./Floyd County) and Taylor Webb (Nassawadox, Va./Northampton) finished with 14 digs apiece. Troxell added 13 digs for the WildCats while Sam Verhaagen (Virginia Beach, Va./Norfolk Christian) totaled 11 digs for the night. Offensively, Troxell floored 14 kills while Morgan concluded the match with 11 kills and a .320 (11-3-25) hitting percentage. Brooks Gillierlain (Suffolk, Va./Nansemond-Suffolk Academy) dished out 22 assists while Taylor Webb distributed 15 assists.