MARYVILLE, Tenn.Â
– Randolph-Macon women's volleyball opened the 2024 fall campaign with a split of a twin bill at the Maryville College Invitational on Friday.
Score:Â Hanover 3, Randolph-Macon 1 (25-19, 25-23, 20-25, 25-22)Â Â Â Randolph-Macon 3, Wisconsin Lutheran 0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-23)
Venue:Â Cooper Athletic Center/Maryville College
Records:Â Randolph-Macon (1-1), Hanover (1-0), Wisconsin Lutheran (0-1)
How it Happened (Game 1)
- Allison Lach (Fredericksburg, Va./Riverbend) started the match with a kill that helped fuel a 5-1 run to open the first stanza for RMC. Hanover would immediately knot the score up by winning five of the next six points to tie it at six. RMC would gain some momentum, taking a 12-9 lead but a 5-0 run by Hanover flipped the lead to their side. The two teams traded the lead back-and-forth as it was tied 18-18 until Hanover took control with a 7-1 run to close the set, winning 25-19.
- RMC jumped out to a lead again in the second set, holding a7-6 advantage until Hanover fired off six straight points to take a 12-7 lead. RMC then used two different 3-0 runs to cut the score to 15-13 and continued putting pressure on the Panthers. The Jackets would take the lead 19-18, after a kill by Kylie Wilhelmi (Cherry Valley, Ill./Rockford Lutheran) and two service aces by Mia Zazzero (Tampa, Fla./Holy Names). RMC's lead would balloon to 21-19, but once again, the Panthers caught fire to end the set, winning 25-23.
- The third set was mostly controlled by RMC, despite Hanover jumping out to a 5-3 lead. After being down 7-6, RMC would use a 3-0 run to gain the lead. The momentum swung back-and-forth through a 15-15 tie before RMC surged to a 7-0 run and take a 22-15 lead. The Panthers won four of the next five points but RMC defended the Panthers' comeback attempt to take set three, 25-20.
- Hanover took the fourth set wire-to-wire, opening the stanza with a 3-0 lead and never allowing RMC to tie it up or take the lead. Multiple times in the set, RMC brought the score within one, including a 20-19 deficit, but Hanover ended the match on a 5-3 run to defeat the Yellow Jackets in the opener of the weekend.
Inside the Numbers (Game 1)
- In her first match in an RMC uniform, Kylie Wilhelmi totaled 23 kills, while having seven digs and two blocks.
- Kaitlyn Kaplan (Norfolk, Va./Norfolk Collegiate) tied a career-high with 16 digs while dishing out 19 assists.
- Maddy DeCandido (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial) led the team with 18 digs, fresh off a season where she finished 4th in the ODAC in total digs.
- RMC had 11 service aces, led by Mia Zazzero with five. Zazzero also had three total blocks.
How it Happened (Game 2)
- In the opening frame, Wisconsin Lutheran took a 5-2 lead out the gate, but it was quickly erased by RMC, who claimed a 7-6 lead. The Warriors grabbed a 12-11 lead, but RMC got their footing and surged out to an 11-2 run to take a 22-14 lead. The Yellow Jackets finished the set with three straight points on kills from Kylie Wilhelmi and Lola Nolasco (Georgetown, Tx./Gateway College Prep) as well as an ace from Laura Walton (Urbanna, Va./Middlesex).
- RMC put cruise control on for the second set after jumping out to a 10-5 lead. The Yellow Jackets never led the lead slip away as that was the last time the deficit was within six points. Once again, RMC ended the set strong, winning seven of the last nine points to win set two, 25-14. RMC held the Warriors to a .029 hitting percentage in the set.
- WLC refused to go down without a fight, taking a 10-6 lead to open the third set. RMC then used a 4-0 run to tie it up at 10. The Warriors then built out a small lead at 19-15 but the resilience of RMC showed, as they went on a 6-0 run to regain the lead. RMC had match point at 24-22, then WLC won the next point to bring it within one, but a kill by Allison Lach ended the match as RMC took the win in straight sets.
Inside the Numbers (Game 2)
- RMC finished the match with just six attack errors, hitting .274 with 29 kills.
- Wilhelmi, once again, led the team in kills with 13 while also having nine digs. She hit .324 on 34 swings.
- Maddy DeCandido finished with 14 digs, giving her 32 on the day.
- Milly Mach (Chesapeake, Va./Hickory) led the Jackets with 11 assists.
- Allison Lach finished with four kills and three service aces.
Up Next
- RMC will finish the weekend in Tennessee against Concordia Chicago tomorrow at 11:00 a.m.
