(ASHLAND, Va.) – The Randolph-Macon men's volleyball team picked up an important CVC win in a four-set match with visiting Kean. It's the first time the Yellow Jackets have defeated the Cougars in three meetings.

The Basics

Scores: Randolph-Macon 3, Kean 1 (25-16, 22-25, 25-23, 25-21)

Venue: Crenshaw Gymnasium

Records: Randolph-Macon 13-6, 2-2 CVC; Kean 12-7, 2-3 CVC

How It Happened

• The Yellow Jackets came out on fire and took a 5-0 lead right off the bat with four of the five points coming on kills. Kolby Gibson (Jr., Bumpass, Va. / Louisa) was the catalyst for the fast start as he added another pair of kills in addition to a pair of aces that helped extend the lead to 14-4.
• A pair of Drew Klein (So., Glen Allen, Va. / Glen Allen) kills made it 18-7 for the Jackets largest lead of the set before the Cougars attempted a comeback. The visitors were able to cut the deficit to seven before another GIbson kill and an ace gave the Lemon and Black a 1-0 lead.
• Another fast start saw the Jackets go out to a 9-5 lead, but this time Kean responded with an 8-3 run to take the lead. The teams went back and forth and were tied as late as 20-20, but the Cougars took five of the last seven points to even the match.
• A pivotal third set saw the Cougars go out to a 19-12 lead before the Jackets rallied to win eight of the next nine points to tie the set at 20-all once again. Kean eventually went up 23-21, but R-MC didn't give up and got a triple block by Klein, Jarrett Carrano (Jr., Beaverdam, Va. Dump Run), and Sean Cunningham (Jr., Virginia Beach, Va. / Kempsville). A Klein ace tied the set before Gibson finished off the comeback with a pair of kills.
• In the fourth, R-MC used an 8-1 run to take an 18-9 lead to create some separation. It appeared the Jackets were set to go on and win the match, but the Cougars didn't make it easy for them. In fact they nearly pulled off a comeback of their own and cut the deficit down to two points as a 4-0 run made the score 23-21. However Klein finished the night off with a pair of kills.

Inside The Numbers

• Klein put up some incredible numbers with 17 kills on 30 attempts for a hitting percentage of .467. Gibson wasn't too far behind and finished with 13 kills.
• James Manning (Jr., Glen Allen, Va. / Glen Allen) set up the offense and made 42 helpers on the evening.
• Cunningham once again got his blocks in with five on the day, two of which were solo.
• John Saxman (So., Henrico, Va. / Mills Godwin) led the team on the receiving end with nine digs.

Up Next

Randolph-Macon hosts No. 8 Rutgers-Newark and Belmont Abbey in a tri on Saturday starting at noon.