LYNCHBURG, Va.- The Randolph men's volleyball team hosted Virginia Wesleyan in the quarterfinals of the ODAC Tournament on Tuesday evening at Giles Gymnasium. The Marlins had the upper hand in the third match of the season between the teams as VWU won by the score of 3-0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-21).

The first set saw the Marlins claim the first three points to lead 3-0. Virginia Wesleyan went on to lead 8-3 and then 10-5. Randolph started to make its way back into the set as they closed to 12-11. After the Marlins pushed ahead 15-12, the WildCats tied the match at 15-15 with kills by Halvard Hauge (Rolvsoy, Norway/Frederick II VGS) and Ahmed Diallo (Aurora, Colo./Overland HS) and a Shamel Smith (Tamarac, Fla.) service ace. The Marlins took a 19-17 lead until the 'Cats came back to go up 21-20. Trailing 22-21, the WildCats tallied three straight points to go up 24-22. VWU, however, scored four straight points to pull away from Randolph and win the frame 26-24.

The WildCats scored the first point of the second set but the Marlins ripped off a 9-1 run to go up 9-2. Randolph answered with a 5-1 run to close to within three points at 10-7. The WildCats then came back to lead 18-17. The Marlins, once again, rallied with an 8-1 run in the end to win the frame 25-19.

In the third set, the WildCats led 6-3. The Marlins rallied to take a 12-9 lead. Randolph closed to within one point at 12-11. Virginia Wesleyan added to their advantage with a 4-0 run to go up 16-11. The Marlins led for the remainder of the set as they won 25-21 to clinch the match.

Smith led Randolph with 10 kills and added six digs. Diallo laid down nine kills. Conner Maher (Buckeye, Ariz./Odyssey Institute) put up 14 assists with Ian Arce (Sneads Ferry, N.C./Dixon HS) tallying 10 assists. Samuel Looney (Fort Worth, Texas/Trinity Valley HS) had a team-high nine digs.

The WildCats finish with a final overall record of 19-11.

The Marlins advance to the ODAC semifinals where they will face top seed Randolph-Macon.