LYNCHBURG, Va.- The Randolph women's volleyball team hosted Averett at Giles Gymnasium in a key ODAC match on Tuesday evening. The WildCats and Cougars went to four sets where Randolph came away victorious with a 3-1 (25-22, 12-25, 25-19, 25-21) win.

The win for the WildCats over Averett is the first for Randolph since the Cougars joined the ODAC in 2022 and is the first overall victory since 2014 over Averett. The 'Cats improve to 8-14 overall and 2-6 in conference play while AU drops to 5-16 overall and 2-9 in ODAC play.

The Cougars notched the first point of the first set but Randolph responded with a 5-0 run to lead 5-1. Averett came back to knot the score at 7-7 but the WildCats went on an 8-0 run to lead 15-7. The Cougars clawed their way back in and moved to within two points of Randolph at 24-22 but an Averett attack error gave the WildCats the final point they needed to win 25-22.

The WildCats let 5-4 in the second set but Averett quickly grabbed the lead away with a 14-3 run to lead 18-8. The deficit was too much for Randolph to overcome as the Cougars won 25-12.

Randolph got out to a big lead in the third leading 12-4. The advantage grew to as much as 19-7 and the 'Cats seemingly looked to cruise to the win but Averett closed the gap with a 12-2 run to make it 23-19. The WildCats ended any thought of a Cougar comeback as Mackenzie Woodson (Norfolk, Va./Norfolk Collegiate) and Brooklyn Finnerty (Lynchburg, Va./Timberlake) both registered a kill each to give Randolph the 25-19 win.

The fourth set was tied 11-11 when the WildCats went on a 5-0 run to take a 16-11 lead. The two teams then alternated points until Randolph was able to pull out to a 22-18 lead. Averett crept to within a point of tying the set at 22-21. The WildCats ended the set with kills by Woodson, Jamie Galinis (Greenville, N.C./DH Conley), and finally Finnerty to secure the set and match win.

Kelsey Bowler (Fredericksburg, Va./Massaponax) led Randolph with 11 kills to go with four digs and three block assists. Galinis finished with 10 kills and six digs. Kailee Turner (Virginia Beach, Va./Kempsville) had 32 assists and went over 1,000 assists for her Randolph career. Abby Maldonado (High Point, N.C./Penn-Griffin SOTA) had a team-high 13 digs. Woodson added 12 digs, McKayla Padgett (Amherst, Va./Amherst County HS) 11 digs, and Jaelle Hinkle (Haymarket, Va./Battlefield HS) 10 digs.

The WildCats are home this Saturday as they host a tri-match with Sweet Briar and Regent. Randolph will play the Vixens at 11:00 am and the Royals at 3:00 p.m.