LYNCHBURG, Va.- The Randolph women's volleyball team hosted Clinton and Pfeiffer in the WildCats' home opener on Friday at Giles Gymnasium. The 'Cats gutted out two big wins as they defeated the Bears 3-2 and the Falcons 3-0.
In the first set of the Clinton match, Randolph got out to an 11-5 lead. At 12-6, the Bears went on a 6-1 run to pull to within one point at 13-12. The WildCats finished off Clinton with a 12-3 run to take the set 25-15.
In the second set, Randolph led 10-3 at one point. Clinton rallied to pull to within two points at 11-9. The WildCats had a five-point lead at 17-12 but the Bears used a 13-3 run to close out the 'Cats and take the set 25-20.
Randolph scored the first four points of the third set. While the Bears clawed their way back to tie the set at 6-6, the WildCats pushed ahead to lead 12-9. Clinton came back to lead by three at 21-18. At 24-21, Randolph rallied to tie the set at 24-24. Both teams would go on to exchange points but neither could get the winning point it needed. At 28-27 in Clinton's favor, the WildCats tallied kills by Jamie Galinis (Greenville, N.C./DH Conley) and Caroline Towle (Warrenton, Va./Fauquier) along with a service ace by Kelsey Bowler (Fredericksburg, Va./Massaponax) to pull away and win the set 30-28.
The Bears led 20-9 in the fourth frame. Randolph pulled to within six but it was not enough as Clinton would go on to win 25-17 to set up a deciding fifth set.
The WildCats started off strong in the fifth set as they led 8-2. The Bears tried to work their way back but the 'Cats scored the last four points of the match on a pair of kills by Bowler and one by Galinis along with an attack error on Clinton that clinched the match for Randolph.
Galinis was one of four WildCats to reach double-digits in kills as she led with 15. Bowler finished with 14 kills and 11 digs. Towle and Brooklyn Finnerty (Lynchburg, Va./Timberlake) both had 12 kills each. Kailee Turner (Virginia Beach, Va./Kempsville) had a season and career-high 47 assists to go with 14 digs. Abby Maldonado (High Point, N.C./Penn-Griffin SOTA) led in digs with 18. Towle chipped in 15 digs and Mackenzie Woodson (Norfolk, Va./Norfolk Collegiate) 10 digs.
While Randolph defeated the Falcons in three sets, the scores were decided by two, two, and three points. In the first set, the WildCats led 12-9 until Pfeiffer tied the set at 12-all. Both teams had 4-0 runs to leave the score at 16-16. Randolph would go on to lead 23-19 but the Falcons were able to knot the set at 23-23. The WildCats were able to outlast Pfeiffer with a 3-1 run to win 26-24.
It was Pfeiffer that led early on in the second set 13-4. Randolph fought its way back as it pulled to within two points at 17-15. The Falcons continued to hold onto to their lead and were ahead 24-22 but Randolph got kills by Towle and Bowler along with a Falcon attack error and the clincher coming on a service ace by Turner.
The Falcons had another significant lead to start the third frame as they lead 8-3. The WildCats went on a 7-0 run to take the Falcon lead away and go up 10-8. Both teams had runs to take the lead but Pfeiffer's last was at 16-15 and Randolph used a 10-6 run that ended with a Bowler kill to win the set 25-22 and win the match.
Bowler led with 10 kills. Finnerty added eight kills and hit .400 overall. Turner picked up 25 assists and nine digs. Maldonado had a team-high 15 digs while Towle contributed 14 digs.
Randolph is back at home tomorrow when it hosts Hood. The match begins at 12:00 p.m.
