LYNCHBURG, Va.- The Randolph volleyball hosted Guilford College and Mid-Atlantic Christian University on Saturday afternoon at Giles Gymnasium. The WildCats fell to the Quakers 3-0 in the first match and defeated the Mustangs 3-0 in the last match of the afternoon.
It was a hotly contested match against the Quakers as all three sets were determined by three points or less. In the first set, Randolph led 15-9 before GC rallied to get to within one point of tying at 15-14. The WildCat lead stood at 19-18 before Guilford used a 4-1 run to lead 22-20. The Quakers were at set point at 24-22 but the 'Cats scored three straight points to get to set point at 25-24. Three more set point opportunities would come until Randolph tied the frame at 28-28. The Quakers, however, got a kill by Chrisbel Alcantara and a service ace by Amber Chiarolanzio to win 30-28.
The second set was back and forth at first until with the score standing at 11-10 in Randolph's favor, Guilford went on a 5-0 run to go up 16-11. The WildCats rallied to eventually knot the score at 20-20. In the end, a 5-2 GC run was enough to give the visitors a 25-22 set win.
It was back and forth battle in the third set. The score was knotted at 22-22 until the Quakers outscored the WildCats 3-1 to win 25-23.
Tahani Villines (Whitset, N.C./Williams) led the offense with nine kills and added eight kills. Mackenzie Woodson (Norfolk, Va./Norfolk Collegiate) and Brooklyn Finnerty (Lynchburg, Va./Timberlake) both added eight kills. Izzy Allen (Williamsburg, Va./Peninsula Catholic) put up 15 assists and Jayda Domenech (Virgnia Beach, Va./Kempsville) 11 assists. Gracie Fulton (Staunton, Va./Riverheads) finished with 21 digs. Tatianna Langston (Carrollton, Va./Smithfield) led in block assists with five with Finnerty finishing with four while also tallying one solo block. Brooke Murdock (Evington, Va./Timberlake Christian) totaled six blocks, (six solo, six assisted).
In Randolph's second match of the day, the WildCats scored 23 straight points and Domenech recorded five service aces during the run. The WildCats would go on to win 25-2.
In the second set, the Mustangs would start off with a run as they registered six straight points. Randolph countered with a run of eight points to overtake MACU and lead 8-6. After the Mustangs got the score to 8-7, Randolph rattled off a 10-0 run to push ahead 18-7 on its way to a 25-10 set win.
The third set was tight early on as neither team went on a sustained run. The Mustangs led 8-6 but the WildCats outscored the Mustangs with a 10-1 run to go up 16-9. MACU closed to within five points at 17-12 but Randolph used an 8-1 run to overcome the Mustangs and win 25-13.
Murdock led with eight kills with Woodson adding five. Sequoyah Sorenson (Millville, UT/Western Albemarle) led in assists with 14 and Domenech tallied 13. Domenech had a team-high six service aces with Madison Daniels (Warrenton, Va./Liberty HS) registering five service aces to go with a team-high 15 digs. Meagan Kesler (Moyock, N.C./Currituck County) had a season-high 13 digs. Woodson added 12 digs and Villines 10 digs.
Prior to the Guilford match, seniors Daniels and Ainsley Simmons were recognized.
Randolph travels to Southern Virginia on Thursday night. Game time from Buena Vista is at 7:00 p.m.
