OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Randolph-Macon Men's Volleyball earned its seventh consecutive win and ninth of the season, giving the Yellow Jackets their best record in program history through the first 10 games of a single season (9-1).

Score: (RV) Randolph-Macon 3, Mount Union 1 (24-26, 25,-23, 25-23, 25-18); (RV) Randolph-Macon 3, Nichols 1 (25-16, 25-20, 20-25, 25-17)
Venue: Owings Mills Gymnasium at Stevenson University
Records: (RV) Randolph-Macon (9-1, 1-0 ODAC); Mount Union (6-7, 0-0 MCVL); Nichols (3-7, 0-0 NEVC)

How it Happened vs. Mount Union

• Set one opened with back-and-forth action as neither program was able to get a two-point lead until Mount Union earned a 7-5 advantage. Despite kills from Kody Rogan (Chesapeake, Va./Hickory), Ian Wagenhauser (Glen Allen, Va./Deep Run), Landon Brinkley (Norfolk, Va./Norfolk Christian) and Nathan Karluk (Midlothian, Va./Midlothian), RMC was forced to call a timeout once it found itself trailing 6-9. Out of the timeout, the Yellow Jackets worked the set all the way back to a 15-15 tie, as Wagenhauser and Brinkley each had two kills on the spurt. Shortly after, the Raiders were forced to call a timeout down 16-18 after they committed back-to-back errors. Even though Phillip Van Essendelft (Chesapeake, Va./Hickory) got two kills down the stretch, another timeout from RMC was unable to help them hang on to set one, as MU took it 26-24.
• Rogan found Van Essendelft and Wagenhauser for two of RMC's first six points of the second, propelling them out to a 6-3 advantage. The Yellow Jackets capitalized on the better start, as they extended the lead to 14-9 after kills from Wagenhauser, Van Essendelft and Bryce Matthews (Chesterfield, Va./Clover Hill). Mount Union responded with four-straight points but the Lemon and Black pushed back out to a 21-15 lead, as they forced three different errors from the Raiders. Despite MU taking the next five points of the set, RMC took set two 25-23, thanks to two kills from Van Essendelft and the exclamation point from Wagenhauser.
• RMC jumped out to an early 5-2 lead, as three of the five points were kills from Wagenhauser, Van Essendelft and Rogan. With the lead, Matthews and Van Essendelft joined for a block, giving RMC back-to-back points and a 10-6 cushion. Randolph-Macon preserved its lead, up 18-16, as Rogan found Matthews for three emphatic kills, before an attack error from MU increased the lead to three. While MU got within one, down 18-19, a timeout from the Yellow Jackets led to a clutch service ace from Rogan, forcing the Raiders into a timeout. Despite four-straight points from Mount Union, two huge blocks from Matthews and a kill from Wagenhauser led to a 25-23 set three win.
• Similar to the previous set, RMC created a 9-4 lead early, driven by kills from four different Yellow Jackets and blocks from Wagenhauser and Matthews. While an attack error ended the run, MU was forced to call a timeout trailing 8-13, as a few errors sent the ball too long. Out of the break, two kills from Brinkley saw the Lemon and Black extend their advantage to 22-16. Caleb Brown (Midlothian, Va./Midlothian) checked into the match and found Rogan for a kill and forced an attack error, helping his team clinch a 25-18 win in the final set.

Inside the Numbers vs. Mount Union

• Randolph-Macon led Mount Union in kills (52-43), assists (46-41) and hitting percentage (.206-.119).
• RMC defended well, as they finished with more total blocks (11-6), block assists (10-4), solo blocks (6-4) and digs (64-45) than MU.
• Wagenhauser led the match with season-highs in points (17.5) and kills (17), while tying for third in the match in hitting percentage (.333).
• Van Essendelft led RMC with a .429 hitting percentage, while also finishing tied-third in the match with 12 kills.
• Brady Plucker (Fredericksburg, Va./Riverbend) led all players with 17 digs.
• Rogan tallied RMC's only service ace of the match, while adding a match and season-high 40 assists and a season-best 14 digs.
• Matthews finished the contest with match and career-highs in total blocks (seven) and solo blocks (five).

For the Record

• Randolph-Macon's 126 total attacks, 64 digs, 52 kills and 46 assists all mark the highest in each category in a single match this season.

How it Happened vs. Nichols

• Van Essendelft accounted for each of his team's first three points, generating three kills and an early 4-1 lead. After he accounted for two more kills to create a 7-2 lead, the offense continued to string together points to reach a 14-7 cushion, as both Brinkley and Wagenhauser registered kills on the run. Once Rogan found Matthews for two more Yellow Jacket kills, RMC forced three attack errors in the final four points, as a kill from Brinkley gave RMC a decisive 25-16 set one win.  
• Randolph-Macon earned itself a 5-4 lead in a tighter second set, thanks to a joint rejection from Karluk and Wagenhauser. Once Nichols got its own 10-9 lead due to a service ace from Adam Vincent, the Yellow Jackets retaliated to a 17-13 advantage, as Rogan located Wagenhauser for two kills on the 8-3 run, forcing a timeout from the  Bison. While a kill from Matthews kept the Lemon and Black ahead by four, five attack errors in the final seven points gave RMC another clean set win, this time with a score of 25-20.
• The third set opened in favor of Nichols, as the Bison created an 8-4 lead through 12 points, forcing RMC into a timeout. While the home team won three of the set's next four points, the Lemon and Black exploded for five consecutive points, forcing a timeout from the Bison after Rogan assisted Matthews twice and Van Essendelft once. Matteo DeLuca (Glen Allen, Va./Maggie Walker Governor's School) rifled a service ace after the timeout before Van Essendelft posted yet another kill, keeping RMC down one, 12-13. The Bison responded with four kills and a service ace across the set's next five points, surging the Bison out to a 19-14 advantage late in the set. Even though Wagenhauser posted a kill as a direct response to the ace, another service ace from DeLuca wasn't enough, giving RMC a 20-25 set three loss.
• Through 10 points in the fourth set, the two teams were tied at five a piece, as the Yellow Jackets were able to force errors for three of their five points. The two teams traded points for a large chunk of the set, until an attack error from the Bison and kill from Van Essendelft vaulted RMC into the lead, up 14-11. While the Bison won two of the next three points, three consecutive kills from Matthews forced a timeout from the Bison, as the Yellow Jackets had momentum leading 18-13. Randolph-Macon remained resilient to close out the fourth and final set, 25-17 thanks to yet another back-to-back kill sequence from Matthews.

Inside the Numbers vs. Nichols

• The Yellow Jackets were effective in limiting their errors, as the Bison led in attack errors (30-17) and service errors (15-13).
• Nichols has the defensive edge, as they paced RMC in total blocks (7-6) and solo blocks (3-1).
• Van Essendelft led the match with 19 kills, four digs and a hitting percentage of .375.
• Matthews finished the contest with 19 points and 14 kills.
• Wagenhauser totaled eight kills and two blocks, while Rogan joined him with two blocks and another 40-assist match.
• Brinkley led the team with nine digs, while Plucker and Rogan followed with eight and seven, respectively.
• DeLuca tied for a match-high two aces.

Up Next

The Yellow Jackets resume play tomorrow, Saturday, February 14, as they will take on Lancaster Bible in Lancaster, Pa., for their final game of the Stevenson Tournament at 11:00 a.m.
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