(ASHLAND, Va.) – Athletic events at Crenshaw Gymnasium officially came to a close for the academic year as Randolph-Macon split a tri on Saturday afternoon. The Yellow Jackets opened the day with a thrilling five-set victory over Misericordia before giving UC Santa Cruz all it could handle in a four-set defeat.

The Basics

Scores: Match 1 – Randolph-Macon 3, Misericordia 2 (24-26, 25-14, 17-25, 25-22, 18-16)
Match 2 – Randolph-Macon 1, UC Santa Cruz 3 (27-25, 26-28, 25-13, 27-25)

Venue: Crenshaw Gym

Records: Randolph-Macon 19-10, Misericordia 16-18, UC Santa Cruz 13-15

How It Happened (Match 1 vs. Misericordia)

• Fans got plenty of entertainment in the opening match of the day between the Cougars and Yellow Jackets. R-MC looked poised to take a one set lead after a Gio DeLuca (So., Glen Allen, Va. / Glen Allen) and Merrick Gessler (Sr., Virginia Beach, Va. / Kempsville) block put the YJs up 22-20, but the Cougars answered with five of the next seven points to go up 1-0.
• The Lemon and Black rebounded in a big way with a dominating performance in the second. A 9-0 run gave the Jackets a 21-9 lead to take control and gave R-MC the biggest win in a game with Misericordia of the season.
• Both teams split the next two sets to set up the pivotal deciding fifth. The usual 15 points wouldn't be enough as once again these two teams fought to two-point difference. After serving for match point on four occasions, the Jackets finally got it on a Drew Klein (So., Glen Allen, Va. / Glen Allen) kill.

Inside The Numbers (Match 1 vs. Misericordia)

• Klein had a huge match and spiked 21 kills to start the day. He did so on 37 attempts with a hitting percentage of .405.
• Kolby Gibson (Jr., Bumpass, Va. / Louisa) joined him in double figures with 10. Gibson also led the team on the receiving end with nine digs.
• Blocks were once again plentiful with eight in the match. DeLuca, Sean Cunningham (Jr., Virginia Beach, Va. / Kempsville) and Scotty Carter (Sr., Virginia Beach, Va. / Frank W. Cox) led the charge with four each.
• Gessler set the offense up with 33 assists.

How it Happened (Match 2 vs. UC Santa Cruz)

• The Jackets appeared to have control after an 8-2 run gave them a 16-10 lead and forced the Banana Slugs to call timeout. Santa Cruz took advantage afterwards and eventually chipped away until it was tied at 24-all. The Banana Slugs took the set by scoring six of the final seven points.
• The second set was just as close. This time it was the Yellow Jackets that were clutch down the stretch as they tied the match at 25-all on a DeLuca kill. A DeLuca and Cade Terrell (So., Glen Allen, Va. / Deep Run) block gave the Jackets a chance at game point, and while they didn't get it initially, a Terrell kill and Santa Cruz error equaled the match at 1-1.
• The Banana Slugs responded with a big win in the third forcing the Jackets to need a win in the fourth. R-MC gave them a run and served for the potential game point after a Gibson and Cunningham block made it 24-23. Santa Cruz answered with the next two points, and while a Gibson kill knotted the set at 25-all, the visitors were able to close out the match with the next two points.

Inside The Numbers

• A trio of Yellow Jackets reached double figures offensively with Jarrett Carrano (Jr., Beaverdam, Va. / Patrick Henry) leading the way with 15 kills. Klein followed with 12 and Gibson chalked up 11. Terrell set up the attack with 42.
• Cunningham gave the Banana Slug offense problems throughout with seven blocks. Three of them were solo.

Up Next

The Yellow Jackets conclude their best regular season in program history and set their sights on the postseason. They'll head to Marymount on Tuesday for the CVC quarterfinals as the No. 5 seed.