VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.- The Randolph men's volleyball team began its season on Sunday as it faced Shenandoah and Regent at Norfolk High School. The WildCats defeated the Hornets 3-0 in the first match and the Royals by the same score.

Against the Hornets, the WildCats got out to a 3-0 lead on its way to going ahead 6-1. The 'Cats had a 13-3 advantage and led for the rest of the way enroute to a 25-11 win.

In the second set, the two teams exchanged points early on. The score was tied at 14-14 until the 'Cats pulled away with a 7-1 run to lead 21-15. Randolph would go on to win the set 25-18.

The third set saw the WildCats take an early lead and go out in front 10-6. Randolph would never relinquish the advantage as it would go on to win 25-15.

Ahmed Diallo (Aurora, Colo./Overland HS) led the 'Cats with 10 kills and hit .571. Ian Arce (Sneads Ferry, N.C./Dixon HS) led in assists with 19 and Conner Maher (Buckeye, Ariz./Odyssey Institute) added 11 assists. Samuel Looney (Fort Worth, Texas/Trinity Valley HS) had a team-high 10 digs.

Against the Royals, the WildCats got out to a 17-5 lead in the first set. Randolph would go on to win 25-12.

The WildCats led 5-3 in the second set before the Royals tied it up at 5-5. Randolph then went on a 7-1 run to go ahead 12-6. With a 14-10 lead, the WildCats went on to go up 20-10 before the Royals tallied four straight points to make it 20-14. The 'Cats then went on to outscore the Royals 5-1 to win the set 25-15.

In the third set, the Royals led 1-0 but Randolph used an 8-1 run to go ahead 8-2. Regent went on a run of its own to knot the score at 9-9. The WildCats pulled ahead 16-11. Regent closed to within a point at 18-17. The Royals still trailed by a point at 21-20 but the WildCats outscored the Royals 4-1 to take the set 25-21 and win the match.

Samuel Brown (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial HS) led the team with eight kills and added six digs. Zachary Septoff (Cumberland, Md.) added seven kills and had a hitting percentage of .750, Maher totaled 34 assists. Derek Smith (Lynchburg, Va./Homeschool) led in digs with nine.

Randolph hosts its home opener this coming Saturday. The WildCats host Mount Aloysius at 12:00 pm and face #4 Southern Virginia at 4:00 p.m.