SALEM, Va.- The Randolph women's volleyball team faced North Carolina Wesleyan and Greensboro on Day 2 of Maroon Classic on Saturday. The WildCats were victorious twice on the day as they defeated the Battling Bishops 3-1 (25-23, 25-16, 15-25, 25-17) and the Pride 3-2 (18-25, 26-24, 26-24, 17-25, 15-13)
Against NC Wesleyan, the Battling Bishops led 12-9 early in the first set. The WildCats rattled off five straight points to go ahead 14-12. With the score tied at 16-16, the WildCats went on a 7-1 run to go ahead 23-17. N.C. Wesleyan went on a late 6-1 run to make it 24-23 but Brooke Murdock's (Evington, Va./Timberlake Christian) kill won it for Randolph 25-23.
The WildCats got out to a big lead in the second frame as they went out in front 17-8. N.C. Wesleyan got as close as six points, 22-16, but the WildCats got kills from Tahani Villines (Whittset, N.C./Williams), Mackenzie Woodson (Norfolk, Va./Norfolk Collegiate) and Murdock to put away the Battling Bishops 25-16.
N.C. Wesleyan took a big 8-0 lead in the third frame. Randolph got as close as four points and trailed 21-15 but the Battling Bishops got the last four points they needed to take the set.
With the score knotted at 5-5 in the fourth set, Randolph went on a 15-3 run to take a 20-8 lead. The Battling Bishops tried to close their deficit, but the WildCats were too much in the end as they would 25-17 to take the match.
Jill Warter (Leesburg, Va./Loudon County) led the 'Cats with 14 kills and tied for the team lead in digs with 11. She also had three service aces. Brooklyn Finnerty (Lynchburg, Va./Timberlake) added 13 kills and hit .474. Villines and McKayla Padgett (Amherst, Va./Amherst County) both finished with 11 digs each. Jayda Domenech (Virginia Beach, Va./Kempsville) led in assists with 21 with Kailee Turner (Virginia Beach, Va./Kempsville) adding 14 assists. Murdock finished with seven total kills, five blocks (one solo, four assisted) and two digs.
In the Greensboro match, Randolph led 10-9 in the first set. The Pride pulled away with a 4-0 run to lead 13-10. The advantage grew to 21-14 on the way to a 25-18 win.
The Pride got out in front 10-4 in the second set. Randolph slowly chipped away at its deficit as it closed to within one point at 17-16. The WildCats used a 6-2 run to go ahead 22-20. GC would grab the lead back at 24-22. The 'Cats scored four straight times to pull away and win 26-23.
The third set was hard fought with neither team establishing a significant run early on. Randolph had a lead at 14-13 but Greensboro came back to wrestle the lead away. The Pride were ahead 24-21 but the WildCats rallied with five straight points to win again by the score of 26-24.
Greensboro came out strong in the fourth set as it got out to a 5-0 lead. The WildCats closed to within one point at 6-5 but GC pulled ahead with its lead growing to 20-10. Greensboro kept the WildCats at arm's length as it went on to win 25-17 to force a deciding fifth set.
Randolph had a strong start in the fifth frame as it led 6-2. The WildCat lead was at 12-8 but the Pride showed some fight as it rallied to tie the set twice. With the score knotted at 13-13, Warter delivered back-to-back kills to give the 'Cats the 15-13 set win and match victory.
Warter led Randolph with 19 kills and 26 digs. Finnerty added 11 kills. Villines had a double-double performance of 10 kills and 24 digs with four block assists. Murdock also had 10 kills and finished with nine total blocks (four solo, five assisted). Padgett led in digs with 36. Domenech had a double-double of 21 assists and 13 digs. Turner also had a similar line with 21 assists and 11 digs.
The WildCats host their first match of the season on Wednesday as Southern Virginia comes to Giles Gymnasium. Start time is 6:00 p.m.
