(ASHLAND, Va.) – The Randolph-Macon men's volleyball team continued its strong start to the season with a sweep of Alderson Broaddus on Friday evening. The Yellow Jackets and Battlers will meet again tomorrow morning to kick off a tri that will involve Eastern Mennonite.

The victory marks the first time in the program's short history that it has won its first two matches.

The Basics

Score: Randolph-Macon 3, Alderson Broaddus 0 (25-10, 25-18, 25-18)

Venue: Crenshaw Gymnasium

Records: Randolph-Macon 2-0, Alderson Broaddus 0-1

How It Happened

• Randolph-Macon had the momentum from the get go and opened the evening with the first four points. After an AB timeout and two points by the Battlers, the Yellow Jackets kept pouring it on with 11 of the next 13 points. Defense played a huge role as R-MC rejected five AB attacks in the frame. Three of them belonged to Gio DeLuca (So., Glen Allen, Va. / Glen Allen).
• While the second set was closer, the Jackets never trailed at any point in the game. Again the Jackets scored four of the first five points, but the Battlers clawed back to tie the game at 5-all. It was the closest the visitors got in the game. Seven of the next nine points went the way of the Yellow Jackets and forced AB to call a timeout. Afterwards the Jackets kept rolling with five of the next seven points en route to a 2-0 lead. Kolby Gibson (Jr., Bumpass, Va. / Louisa) led the attack with four more kills to equal his total in the first.
• The Battlers eventually found themselves with the lead in the third set by jumping out to a 5-2 lead. However, it didn't last long as the Jackets were quick to tie the game at 6-6 following a kill by Scotty Carter (Sr., Virginia Beach, Va. / Frank W. Cox) in the middle of an 8-1 run capped by another Carter kill. AB remained close and stayed within three as late as 21-18, but the Jackets closed out the night with the final four points on an error, Sean Cunningham (Jr., Virginia Beach, Va. / Kempsville) kill, DeLuca ace, and a Jarrett Carrano (Beaverdam, Va. / Patrick Henry) kill.

Inside The Numbers

• Gibson again led the attack with a match-best 12 kills on 24 attempts and a hitting percentage of .417. Carrano equaled his hitting percentage while pounding down six kills.
• Cade Terrell (So., Glen Allen, Va. / Deep Run) set up the offense with 22 assists.
• After five blocks in the first set, R-MC finished the night with eight. DeLuca led up front with five block assists. Carrano paced the back line with eight digs.
• Serving was a strong suit for the Jackets as they fired eight aces. DeLuca, Terrell, and Gibson all tallied two.
• It's just the third time in program history that the Yellow Jackets hit over .300 as a team. They hit .347 for the night, the second-best percentage ever and best ever in a three-set win. R-MC hit .302 in a 3-0 win against Immaculata on February 15, 2019, and .382 against Mount Union in a 3-1 win on February 2 that same season.
• The 10 points allowed in the first set are the fewest since the aforementioned Immaculata match. In that R-MC victory the Jackets yielded 10 points in the second set and eight in the first. Those are the lowest in program history.

Up Next

Round 2 between the Yellow Jackets and Battlers will take place tomorrow morning at 11. The Lemon and Black will follow up with match against Eastern Mennonite after EMU and AB play the middle contest of a tri.