BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – Freshman Kolby Gibson (Bumpass, Va. / Louisa) made 27 kills between two matches Saturday evening, though the Yellow Jackets fell twice in a tri-match at Geneva College.

Geneva 3, Randolph-Macon 0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-22)

Randolph-Macon pushed the first set out to a 3-0 lead, but the Golden Tornadoes battled back to tie the set at 5-5. Neither team got a real advantage until Geneva burst away from a 13-13 tie with five straight points. R-MC nearly battled back with four of the next five, but the Golden Tornadoes kept just enough of an edge to win 25-21.

Geneva took the early lead in the second set with an 8-5 advantage. R-MC powered back thanks too a pair of kills from Gibson. Again, a small run helped establish Geneva for the rest of the set, with the Golden Tornadoes hitting a 5-1 run to get in front and never allowed R-MC closer than four for the rest of the frame, winning 25-18.

Geneva took seven of the first ten points of the final set, forcing R-MC to play from behind early. But the Yellow Jackets met the challenge, scoring five of six to tie the set at 11-all. Geneva tallied a 5-0 run while R-MC used a 5-1 run to wipe the deficit away again. The Yellow Jackets forced ties a 19-19 and 20-20 as well as took a lead at 22-21, but the Golden Tornadoes tallied the final four points to win the set and the match 25-22.

Gibson led the Yellow Jackets with ten kills while senior Lee Olenyik (Mechanicsville, Va. / Hanover) added five. Freshman Jarett Carrano (Beaverdam, Va. / Patrick Henry) collected 21 assists. Sophomore Connor Logan (Montpelier, Va. / Patrick Henry) had 22 digs. Freshman Sean Cunningham (Va. Beach, Va./Kempsville) led the team with three blocks.

Elmira 3, Randolph-Macon 2 (28-26, 23-25, 14-25, 22-25, 15-13)

Randolph-Macon got a good jump in the first set of the nightcap. The Yellow Jackets burst out for seven of nine, taking a solid 13-7 lead. Elmira powered back with seven of the next ten though to get within one. A 5-2 run late in the set helped Elmira take its first lead of the set and the teams traded points until Elmira got two in a row to win 28-26.

The Yellow Jackets were not phased, however. R-MC mounted another lead in the second set, getting ahead 6-2 and 7-4. Elmira got within two a few times as well as backed R-MC to just a one-point advantage, but the Yellow Jackets were able to get a 4-2 run to get some space out in front. Elmira again forced a tie and eventual lead by one at 16-15. A 6-2 run put R-MC ahead yet again, and despite a few Soaring Eagles points to cut R-MC's lead back to one, the Yellow Jackets held on and earned the win 25-23.

R-MC got ten of the first 13 points in the third frame and never let the Elmira offense get going. Through the course of the first 19 points, R-MC allowed just five to Elmira. The Soaring Eagles did get three in a row in the middle of the set, but that was the most in a row the whole frame as the Yellow Jackets ripped off a 6-2 run moments later as well as 5-2 run to end it and win the frame 25-14.

The Soaring Eagles played the fourth set much closer, however. R-MC got a 5-2 advantage early, but Elmira pulled within one at 6-7. The Yellow Jackets never allowed Elmira to lead, though the teams did tie at 15-15, 16-16 and 17-17. R-MC took a two-point advantage from there. But the Soaring Eagles rallied for six of seven and allowed just two more points to R-MC en route to the 25-22 victory.

In the fifth set, R-MC earned the first point, but Elmira exploded for six straight to take a significant lead. R-MC powered back with six of eight to cut the Soaring Eagle lead to just one. R-MC remained one behind until Elmira got four of six in a run to ear match point. Olenyik put a kill down and Elmira tallied an attack error to get R-MC to 13-14; however, Elmira scored the final point to win 15-13, stealing the set and match.

Gibson again led the Yellow Jackets with 17 kills while senior Corban Jungers (Ashland, Va. / J.R. Tucker) added 11 and Olenyik put down ten. Carrano tallied a new personal and program-high 45 assists, breaking the previous high of 43 set earlier this season. He also led R-MC with 14 digs, with Gibson adding 12 and senior Brian Stephen (Mechanicsville, Va. / Hanover) finishing with 11. Cunningham tallied nine blocks, which is also a new program-high. Carrano added two service aces and six blocks, including a solo effort. Sophomore Kyle Alberici (Cicero, N.Y. / Cicero North Syracuse) threw in a service ace.

Up Next                                                                                                                                                                                              ,

R-MC faces Penn State Behrend tomorrow at 11:00 AM before taking on #8 Wells at 1:00 PM. Both games will be hosting by Behrend in Erie.