Jackets Survive Five-Setter with Lynchburg to Set Date with Washington and Lee

LEXINGTON, Va. --- Randolph-Macon College twice fell a game behind Lynchburg College in the second semifinal of the ODAC Volleyball Tournament, but the Yellow Jackets clawed back to pull out a 3-2 victory (15-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-17, 15-8) in Lexington on Saturday.  Second-seeded R-MC moves on to face host and top seed, Washington and Lee University, in the conference title game at 5:00 p.m.

Lynchburg (21-10) countered Randolph-Macon’s (22-5) slow start with a solid beginning, pouncing on several Jacket miscues to claim the first game of the match.  R-MC rebounded in game two as Mallory Carter and the R-MC hitters found some rhythm.  Game three marked the tightest of the three sets, with the Hornets pounding out 18 kills as they moved to within one game of a title match appearance.  But the momentum shifted to the higher seed early in game four as Randolph-Macon hit .406 to level the match at two-all.

The Yellow Jackets quickly gained a 4-0 advantage in the deciding frame, forcing LC into a timeout.  But the break in action did little to quell R-MC’s momentum as Randolph-Macon’s edge grew to 5-0 and eventually 10-4 after Jessica Sears’ second ace of the match.  Lynchburg got as close as 11-7 before the Yellow Jackets pulled away for the win.

Tori Puryear had arguably her best match of the season to lead R-MC’s attack.  She posted a .643 hitting percentage with 19 kills against just one error in 28 attacks.  She added three block assists and two aces to her stat line.  Carter finished with 18 kills, but hit just .155 for the match after eight errors in 58 attempts.  She also registered 12 digs and an ace.  Sears added nine kills and 13 digs, while Mallory James and Hilary Jesse had seven and six kills, respectively.  Bailey Troia dished out 52 assists, and libero Marli Dabareiner recorded 20 digs.

Lynchburg was led by Rebecca Loftis’ 16 kills and .364 hitting percentage.  Aricquel Payne chipped in 15 winners, while Elena Kritter and Rachel Huffman added nine and eight kills, sequentially.  Kritter tied for match-high laurels with 20 digs.  Rachel Turk handed out 29 assists to go with six kills.