(ASHLAND, Va.) – Friday's women's volleyball match between Randolph-Macon and Roanoke needed five sets, but unfortunately for the Yellow Jackets the Maroons came from behind to escape with the win.

The Basics

Score: Randolph-Macon 2, Roanoke 3 (19-25, 26-24, 20-25, 26-24, 15-12)

Venue: Crenshaw Gym

Records: R-MC 6-3, 5-3 ODAC; Roanoke 6-2, 6-2 ODAC

How It Happened:

• Things appeared to be going well for the Yellow Jackets in the opening set as they tied the set at 10-10 and scored 16 of the last 22 points for the first set win. The barrage opened with a kill by Jordan Davis-Allen (So., Powhatan, Va. / Powhatan). An ace by Macguire Gubba (Jr., Grove City, Pa. / Grove City) eventually made the score 17-12 and forced the Maroons to call a timeout.
• Another small four-point run capped by kills from Madison Warlick (Jr., Charlottesville, Va. / Albemarle) and Davis-Allen made it 22-14.
• Emma Young (Sr., Hihland Park, Ill. / Highland Park), honored before the game for Senior Day, provided the game point on a kill.
• Set Two was a sign of things to come. Neither team could string together a run of more than three points until Randolph-Macon did so in the late stages. Down 22-19, Gracyn Draney (So. Forest, Va. / Jefferson Forest) sparked the largest rally of the set with a kill to give the Jackets a serve for game point at 24-22. However the Maroons answered and scored the next four to even the match at 1-1.
• The Jackets used another mid-set run in the middle of the third to help them take control once again. Another Gubba ace followed and a pair of Warlick kills in the midst of a 6-0 run helped give R-MC a 16-11 lead.
• Roanoke chipped away and came to within three, but a Danielle LaRosa (Charlottesville, Va. / Albemarle) kill followed by two errors by the visitors put R-MC back in front 2-1.
• The fourth set equaled the second in terms of the score. Both teams had an answer for the opposite's attack. A five-point rally gave R-MC a 16-12 lead, but Roanoke responded with the next five. From there no one scored more than two consecutive points.
• Roanoke jumped out to an early lead in the fifth at 4-1 and 7-4. Randolph-Macon didn't give up and chipped away enough to tie the deciding set at 10-10 after a kill by Koch, but the Maroons were able to respond with the next four points. One last comeback attempt so the Jackets score the next two points before Roanoke scored match point.

Inside The Numbers

• Davis-Allen led the Jackets with 12 kills on 27 attempts. Koch joined her in double-figures with 10.
• Warlick paced the team defensively with 12 digs while Leslie Currie (Fr., Mechanicsville, Va. / Hanover) followed with 11.
• Defensively the Jackets were strong up front in the early going. Five of the nine blocks in the match came during the first set. Koch got up for most of them with one solo and four assists. LaRosa had three solo blocks and one assist.
• The Jackets serving was impressive as they flew down nine aces on the day. Gubba totaled three of them while Warlick dished out two. Gubba also led the team in assists with 26.
• Roanoke's Linsey Bailey proved difficult to stop as she recorded 25 kills on the day.

Up Next

The regular season will come to an end next Sunday as the Jackets host Eastern Mennonite. First serve is set for 2 p.m.