DALLAS, Pa. – Men's Volleyball dropped a pair of matches on the second day of the Cougar Kick-Off Classic hosted by Misericordia University. St. Joseph's (Long Island) and host Misericordia bested the Yellow Jackets on the final day of the team's opening weekend

St. Joseph's (L.I) 3, Randolph-Macon 0 (25-16, 25-21, 28-26)

St. Joseph's was able to use a 4-0 run early to take its first lead of the set, but R-MC returned the favor with a 4-1 run moments later. But 9-9 was as close as the Yellow Jackets would get for the remainder of the frame as SJCLI got on a 6-1 run en route to a 25-16 first set victory.

The momentum helped the Golden Eagles take the lead in the second set. SJCLI got ahead 5-2, though R-MC forced ties at 5-5, 8-8 and 12-12. But again a long run doomed the Yellow Jackets as SJCLI took six of the next seven and never allowed R-MC to get the lead back as the Golden Eagles won 25-21.

R-MC earned a significant lead in the final set. The Yellow Jackets used a 5-0 run to get ahead 12-7.  A 7-3 run through the middle of the set helped SJCLI get closer, but still behind R-MC. SJCLI used four of five points to earn the match point, but R-MC took two in a row to get the same. SJCLI fired off the final three points though to win the set and the match.

Freshman Kolby Gibson (Bumpass, Va. / Louisa) led the Yellow Jackets with 11 kills. Freshman Jarrett Carrano (Beaverdam, Va. / Patrick Henry) had 24 assists and 11 digs, both leading the team. Freshman Sean Cunningham made six blocks, while Carrano added four. Sophomore Arjay Harris (Chesapeake, Va. / Hickory) collected ten digs for the R-MC defense as well.

Misericordia 3, Randolph-Macon 0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-21)

Misericordia hit a streak of four straight points to get a 6-2 lead early. R-MC got as close as one, but Misericordia pulled away with nine of the next 11. R-MC repaid the favor with ten of the next twelve though, earning ties at 18-18, 19-19 and 20-20. But Misericordia finished, gaining a 5-2 run to win 25-22.

Misericordia again led off with a quick run, earning nine of the first 11 points. The Cougars continued to press forward and never allowed the Yellow Jackets to score multiple points in a row until late in the set, which the Cougars won 25-14.

R-MC started out the third set with two big kills from Scotty Carter (Virginia Beach, Va. / Frank W. Cox) to tie the set at 4-4. Carter got another kill for R-MC moments later to earn the 5-5 tie as well. Misericordia was able to score five of the next eight though to take a two-point lead. It would not last long though as R-MC ripped off five in a row to get a three-point lead. A MU timeout helped readjust though and the Cougars gained the lead back with a 4-0 run of their own. R-MC responded in kind with four in a row before Misericordia ripped off ten of the final 13 points to win the set and match.

Senior Lee Olenyik (Mechanicsville, Va. / Hanover) led the team with eight kills. Carrano added 17 assists. Cunningham had two blocks at the net. Senior Corban Jungers (Ashland, Va. / J.R. Tucker) led the team defensively with nine kills.

All-Tournament Selection

Gibson was named to the Cougar Kick-Off Classic All-Tournament team. He finished the weekend with 33 kills, six assists, 16 digs and a pair of blocks.

Up Next

Randolph-Macon will open its home schedule with St. Andrews on Friday at 7:00 PM.