The Virginia Wesleyan University men's volleyball team (15-8, 6-3 ODAC) defeated Randolph 3-2, winning 25-27, 25-20, 25-22, 23-25, and 15-9.
The Marlins offense was led by
Landon Brinkley who had 18.5 points, with 14 kills, a .407 hitting percentage, four service aces, six digs, one assists, and one block assist.
Christian Harris tallied 15 kills, seven digs, one service ace, and one solo block, and teammate
JaMarhe Wills registered nine kills, 13 digs, one assist, and three block assists.
The Wildcats came out strong to start the first set jumping out to a 7-3 lead, but the Marlins rallied with a 9-1 run to take a 15-8 lead. VWU went on to build a 17-11 lead, but Randolph fought back and went on an 11-2 run to take a 22-19 lead. Virginia Wesleyan responded with a 6-3 run to tie the set at 25-25, but the Wildcats scored the next two points to win 27-25.
Coming off the set one win, Randolph went up 3-0 to start set two. However, the Marlins countered with a 4-0 run to lead 4-3. The two teams traded points with the host holding a 9-8 lead, but then VWU went on a 4-0 run to take a 12-9 lead. Randolph went on a 3-1 run to cut the lead to 13-12, but the Marlins came back with a 9-2 run to lead 22-14. However, the Wildcats clawed back into the game with a 5-0 run to bring the score to 22-19. Virginia Wesleyan outscored Randolph 3-1 to win set two 25-20.
In the third set, Randolph again had a good start building an early 6-2 lead. VWU responded with a 5-0 run to lead 7-6, but Randolph countered with a 4-1 run to lead 10-8. The two teams traded points and the host found themselves up 16-13, but Virginia Wesleyan rallied with a 5-0 run to lead 18-16. The teams continued to trade points until the host went on a 4-1 run to lead 21-20. However, the Marlins responded with a 5-1 run to win set three 25-22.
In the fourth set, the Wildcats saw themselves up 5-4 early and then went on to extend their lead to 15-5. The Marlins chipped away at the Randolph lead and outscored them 12-8 to bring the score to 23-17 and followed that run with a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to 23-22. However, the Wildcats went on to win the fourth set 25-23.
Virginia Wesleyan came out strong with a 4-0 run, but Randolph went on a 3-0 run to bring the score to 4-3. Each team scored three points over the next six rallies to bring the score to 7-6. Then, the Marlins offense erupted with a 6-2 run to lead 13-8 and outscored the host 2-1 the rest of the set to win the fifth set 15-9.
