DALLAS, Pa. – The Randolph-Macon men's volleyball team had a double dip in Dallas, Pa. on Friday night for the first of two days at the Cougar Kickoff Classic hosted by Misericordia. RMC dropped the first match in straight sets to 15^th-ranked Nazareth and fell in a five-set thriller to Baldwin Wallace in the night cap.

The Basics:

Scores: #15 Nazareth 3, Randolph-Macon 0 (29-27, 25-21, 25-19)

            Baldwin Wallace 3, Randolph-Macon 2  (25-12, 21-25, 25-22, 21-25, 15-13)

Location/Venue: Dallas, Pa./Misericordia University/Anderson Center

Records: Randolph-Macon (1-2, 0-0 ODAC), Nazareth (7-0, 0-0 UVC), Baldwin Wallace (7-1, 0-0 OAC)

How it Happened (Match 1):

• The Yellow Jackets found themselves quicky down 7-3 in the first set, but battled back to even the score at nine thanks to back-to-back kills by Ian Wagenhauser (Glen Allen, Va./Deep Run). After being knotted up at 16, RMC went on a 4-1 run to win the race to 20, but Nazareth quickly bounced back with three straight points to tie it at 20. Three straight points by the Golden Flyers got them to match point but RMC roared back to lead 25-24. Nazareth went on a 5-2 run for the remainder of the set to take set one, 29-27.
• RMC had a three-point lead in the second set, three times, leading 6-3, 7-4, and 20-17, but it took the eight of the final nine points for Nazareth to build the largest lead of the set including the game winner, taking set two, 25-21.
• Nazareth opened the third set on a 4-1 run, and not looking back. RMC went on a quick 3-1 run before the Golden Flyers answered with a 10-4 run to open a large lead. Two kills by Kolby Gibson (Bumpass, Va./Louisa) stopped the run but Nazareth kept the pedal down and pulled off the sweep, winning the third set, 25-19.

By the Numbers (Match 1):

• RMC was led by Ian Wagenhauser's 12 kills, proving to be his second straight match with double-digit kills to start the season.
• Kody Rogan (Chesapeake, Va./Hickory) had 31 assists in the three sets. He now has 61 assists in two matches this season.
• Gio DeLuca (Glen Allen, Va./Glen Allen) led the Yellow Jackets with a .667 hitting percentage.

How it Happened (Match 2):

• BWU started fast, opening the first set to the tune of a 5-1 run, and even though RMC answered with a 5-3 run of their own, BWU won six of the next seven points and 14 of the next 18 to widen their lead and ultimately take the set, 25-12.
• RMC opened the second set with a 3-1 run but proceeded to go back-and-forth with BWU before opening up the largest lead of the set at 23-18 after a kill by Phillip Van Essendelft (Chesapeake, Va./Hickory). RMC held onto the lead to take set two, 25-21.
• Randolph-Macon fell behind early in set three, trailing 7-3, but eventually clawed back to bring it to 17-15. After a kill by Wagenhauser to make it 21-19, BWU kept RMC in check to win the third set, 25-22.
• BWU once again started the fourth set strong, leading all the way through an 18-17 lead before a Kolby Gibson kill completed the comeback to tie it at 18. RMC won seven of the final 10 points capped off by a Gio DeLuca kill for RMC to win the fourth set, 25-21.
• The fifth set was as good as advertised, as RMC built an 9-6 lead after a Jarrett Carrano (Beaverdam, Va./Patrick Henry) kill, Baldwin Wallace won five straight points to take the lead and put RMC in a hole, down 13-11. A Phillip Van Essendelft kill and a BWU attack error tied the set up but BWU took the final two points to win the set, and the match.

By the Numbers (Match 2):

• Jarrett Carrano led the Yellow Jackets with 16 kills with just four errors, which was good for a .353 hitting percentage.
• After Rogan had 31 assists in the first match, Cade Terrell led RMC with 38 assists in the night cap, becoming a strong 1-2 punch at setter.
• Kolby Gibson and Ian Wagenhauser both had 15 kills each. Wagenhauser begins the season with double-digit kills in three straight matches.
• Phillip Van Essendelft had a strong performance with seven kills and a .545 hitting percentage, which led the team.
• Brooks Cowart led RMC with 16 digs, followed by Carrano who had 10.
• The Yellow Jackets battled at the net, with 19 blocks to Baldwin Wallace's four.

Up Next:

Randolph-Macon will be back in action tomorrow for another double header in the Cougar Kickoff Classic, squaring off with Medaille at 1:00 p.m. and the host Misericordia at 3:00 p.m.