LYNCHBURG, Va.- The Randolph men's volleyball team hosted its first matches of the season on Saturday as it faced Mount Aloysius and Southern Virginia. The WildCats defeated the Mounties 3-0 (25-12, 25-13, 25-16) in the first match and fell to the Knights 3-0 (14-25, 16-25, 14-25).
Randolph's overall record now stands at 3-1.
Against the Mounties, the WildCats got out to a 5-2 lead. Randolph led 6-4 before going on a 5-2 run to go up 11-6. The 'Cats continued to add to their lead as they went up 20-11 and finished off the Mounties with a 5-0 run to win the set 25-12.
The WildCats started the second set with a 6-2 advantage. Their lead grew to 12-4 and then 14-5. Mt. Aloysius closed the gap to six points at 15-9. Randolph went on to expand its lead and win the frame 25-13.
The Mounties went ahead 2-0 in the third set but the 'Cats used an 11-4 run to go on top 11-6. It was an 11-8 score before the WildCats went on a 5-0 run to pull ahead 16-8. Randolph's lead did not drop below eight points as it went on to take the set 25-16.
Ahmed Diallo (Aurora, Colo./Overland HS) led Randolph with eight kills and hit .636. He added three block assists and four digs. Derek Smith (Alexandria, Va./Homeschool) put up six kills. Conner Maher (Buckeye, Ariz./Odyssey Institute) totaled 19 assists with Ian Arce (Sneads Ferry, N.C./Dixon HS) adding seven assists. Samuel Brown (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial HS) was the digs leader with six.
Against Southern Virginia, the Knights took a 3-0 lead and were ahead 4-1 but the WildCats answered with three straight points to tie the set at 4-4. SVU then went on a 10-1 run to break away and lead 13-6. Randolph was able to close to 13-9 but the Knights pushed ahead 16-9. SVU outscored the WildCats 9-4 to win 25-14.
Southern Virginia started the second set with a 3-0 lead. Randolph got to within a point at 4-3 but the Knights continued to forge ahead as they led 15-10. The WildCats would close to 15-10 but SVU would go on a 10-5 run to take the set 25-16.
In the third set with the score sitting at 3-2 SVU, the Knights took an 8-0 run to go up 11-2. Randolph halved the score at 12-6 but Southern Virginia went on a 10-2 run to lead 21-9. Randolph tried to claw its way back in but it was too much Knights as they would go on to win 25-14.
Shamel Smith (Tamarac, Fla.) led with four kills. Arce tallied nine assists and three digs.
Randolph travels to Roanoke on Tuesday. The match begins at 6:00 p.m.
