ASHLAND, Va. – Women's Volleyball dug deep to take a set off of Batten but eventually fell 3-1 in a ranked home contest.
Score: #22 Batten 3, Randolph-Macon 1 (25-14, 25-18, 20-25, 25-18)
Venue: Crenshaw Gymnasium
Records: Randolph-Macon (11-8, 5-3 ODAC), #22 Batten (18-3, 7-2 ODAC)
How it Happened
- Allison Lach (Fredericksburg, Va./Riverbend) ripped a kill for the first point of the game, which Lach and Ella Courtney (Arlington, Va./Wakefield) followed with a joint block to take a 4-2 lead. Ellie Rock (Chesapeake, Va./Grassfield) added on with back-to-back service aces to extend the lead to 7-3. The Marlins responded with four kills over a 6-0 run, capturing a 9-7 lead to force an RMC timeout. Mia Goode (Chesapeake, Va./Hickory) ended the 10-0 stretch with a kill and Lach added one of her own, with both kills coming courtesy of Caitlin Smith (Greensboro, N.C./Greensboro Day School) passes. While Olivia Roark (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Country Day School) fired a kill through the middle to keep her team within five at 11-16, Batten closed the set on a 6-1 run to take set one, 25-14.
- Goode, Courtney and Roark all provided kills at the top of set two to keep the team within one at 4-5. Rock then located Lach for a kill before Goode tallied one of her own down the line, knotting the set at nine. Once an attack error gave the Lemon and Black the lead, they were able to cap a 5-1 run with an Avery Jastrzemski (Richmond, Va./Goochland) kill, pacing 12-10. The Marlins countered with five points in seven rallies to lead 15-14 at the break. While each program tallied a kill, BATN forced RMC into three attack errors to result in another timeout, with the home team down 15-19. The Yellow Jackets responded with a kill from Lach and ace from Roark, resulting in a 17-19 score. The late pressure came up just short, as the Marlins went on a 5-1 run to close set two, 25-18.
- RMC went on a 5-2 run to start set three, with both Smith and Lach firing aces. Rock joined with one of her own before Aiden Jolly (Fredericksburg, Va./Chancellor) assisted Roark on a kill, extending the advantage to 9-6. BATN put together a 4-1 run to tie the set 13-13 on a kill but it was the Lemon and Black who led 15-14 at the break on a kill from Jastrzemski. Both teams traded kills until the Marlins committed back-to-back errors, allowing Smith to deliver a service ace, forcing a timeout from the visitors with them down 19-21. Lach and Jastrzemski rifled kills out of the timeout and forced BATN into an error, giving the home squad a 25-20 set three win on a 6-1 run.
- Goode, Jastrzemski and Courtney all dropped kills in to maintain a 4-4 tie through eight points, until RMC called a timeout down 4-7 on a 3-0 BATN run. While the Marlins' lead increased to 14-9 with a kill capping off the offense, kills from Lach and Jastrzemski kept RMC within three, trailing 11-14. Randolph-Macon remained resilient, as Roark posted two kills and Lach added one but the team was forced to call a timeout once it found itself down, 15-21. One last kill from Lach was not enough to take set four, with the score finishing at 18-25.
Inside the Numbers
- Randolph-Macon led Batten 37-to-36 in assists and 10-to-four in service aces.
- BATN held the edge in kills (47-to-42) and hitting percentage (.319-to-.131).
- The Yellow Jackets paced 11-to-nine in kills and five-to-none in service aces during the third set.
- Lach led her team in points (14.5) and kills (12), while swinging a .308 across the four sets.
- Roark finished with 10 kills for 12 points, both ranking second on the team.
- Courtney paced her team with a .429 hitting percentage and added six kills.
- Rock led the Lemon and Black in digs (13) and service aces (three), while Smith finished with the most assists (23) among all players.
Up Next
The Yellow Jackets travel to Lynchburg, Va., to take on the (RV) Hornets on Wednesday, October 21 at 7:00 p.m.
