HARRISONBURG, Va.- The Randolph men's volleyball team faced Eastern Mennonite in an ODAC matchup on Wednesday evening at Yoder Arena. The match needed five sets to determine a winner and the WildCats came out victorious in the end as they won 3-2 (21-25, 25-17, 25-21, 17-25, 15-11).
Randolph improves to 11-7 overall and 3-4 in conference play.
The Royals started the first set on a 3-0 run. The WildCats tied at 6-6 and eventually went ahead 9-8. EMU briefly wrestled the lead back until Randolph went ahead 14-13. It was still anyone's set late as the Royals clung to a 21-20 lead. EMU would outscore the WildCats in the end to take the set 25-21.
It was another back-and-forth battle in the second set. Trailing 9-8, the WildCats were able to break away and took a 12-9 lead. Randolph continued to add to its lead as it was up 20-13. The WildCats maintained their advantage for the remainder of the frame as they won 25-17.
The 'Cats took the first point of the third set but the Royals came back to go ahead 12-8. The WildCats used a 13-3 run to eventually go up 23-17. EMU cut into the Randolph lead but could not catch the WildCats as Randolph won 25-21.
EMU led 9-7 in the fourth set before it went on a 6-0 run to go up 15-7. Randolph tried to rally late but fell short in the end as the Royals won the frame 25-17 to force a deciding fifth set.
In the final set, the teams would exchange a pair of points back and forth with Randolph leading 4-2. Eastern Mennonite tied the set at 5-5. It was a one-point Randolph lead at 9-8 when the WildCats pulled further ahead with a 3-0 run to go up 12-8. It was a 14-11 match when Chase Noblitt's (Greer, S.C./Eastside HS) kill ended it and gave the WildCats the 15-11 set and match win.
Shamel Smith (Tamarac, Fla.) and Noel Schmid (Wiesau, Germany/Stitfland-Gymnasium) led the WildCats with 16 kills each while Schmid added a team-high 13 digs. Ian Arce (Sneads Ferry, N.C./Dixon HS) had a season-high 42 assists. Noblitt and Halvard Hauge (Rolsvoy, Norway/Frederick II VGS) both had four total blocks.
Randolph returns to Gils Gymnasium to host Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday. Match time is at 2:00 p.m.