LYNCHBURG, Va.- The Randolph women's volleyball team hosted LaGrange and William Peace on Saturday on the second day of the Hill City Classic. The WildCats defeated LaGrange 3-0 in the first match and fell to the Pacers 3-1 (25-21, 25-21, 17-25, 25-17)
In the first set against LaGrange, the Panthers led 3-0 but the WildCats countered with a 4-0 run to go up 4-3. With the score knotted at 6-6, the 'Cats ripped off four straight points to jump ahead 10-6. Randolph led 19-14 but LaGrange rallied to tie the score twice at 19-19 and 20-20. The Panthers led 22-21 but the WildCats used a 4-1 run to overtake LaGrange and win the set 25-23.
In the second set, LaGrange led 7-5 but Randolph's 10-1 run gave it a 15-8 advantage. The WildCats were ahead 21-14 until the Panthers closed to within two points at 21-19. Another 4-1 run by the 'Cats once again was enough to put the Panthers away as they won 25-20.
Randolph led for most of the third set. The WildCats were up by as much as 23-8 on their way to a 25-10 set win and match clincher.
Tahani Villines (Whittset, N.C./Williams) led in kills with 12 and also had a team-high 12 digs. She hit .379. Brooke Murdock (Evington, Va./Timberlake Christian) hit .643 laying down nine kills and three block assists. Kailee Turner (Virginia Beach, Va./Kempsville) led in assists with 19 and Jayda Domenech (Virginia Beach, Va./Kempsville) added 16 assists. Abby Maldonado (High Point, N.C./Penn-Griffin SOTA) finished with 11 digs and four service aces.
Against the Pacers, Randolph started off the first set with a 5-3 lead. Wiliam Peace pulled away with an 11-4 run but the WildCats countered with a run of six straight points to grab the lead away and go ahead 15-14. WPU took the lead back as it pulled away for a 25-21 set win.
The 'Cats led 8-6 in the second set. William Peace went on a 12-4 run to go ahead 18-12. The Pacer lead increased to 24-16 but the 'Cats staved off set point with a run of five straight points making it 24-21 but a kill by Georgia Grace Anderson gave WPU the set clinching point.
Randolph led 8-6 in the third set until the Pacers rallied to take the lead away. Down 17-16, Randolph went on an 8-1 run to come back and take the frame 25-17.
The fourth set was tied at 8-8 but William Peace forged ahead with an 8-2 run to lead 16-10. Randolph's deficit stood at four points, 20-16, and was as close as they would get as the Pacers went on a 5-1 run to win the set 25-17.
Jillian Warter (Leesburg, Va./Loudon County) had a team-high 12 kills and added six digs. Villines chipped in 10 kills and six digs. Turner and Domenech both had 14 assists each. Maldonado led in digs with eight.
The WildCats start ODAC play on Tuesday as they host Randolph-Macon. Match time is at 7:00 p.m.