The Batten University women's volleyball team (18-3, 6-2 ODAC) picked up an important ODAC road victory, defeating Randolph-Macon College (11-8, 4-3 ODAC) in four sets (25-14, 25-18, 20-25, 25-18) inside Crenshaw Gymnasium.
The Marlins delivered an efficient offensive performance, recording 47 kills while hitting .319 as a team. Batten committed just nine attacking errors across four sets and held the Yellow Jackets to a .131 hitting percentage.
Anna Moody led the Marlins offensively with a match-high 17 kills on 27 attempts, hitting an impressive .519 while adding five block assists. Hannah Smith followed with 10 kills and nine digs, while Valerie Nolan contributed seven kills. Elizabeth York added six kills on 12 attempts without an attacking error, finishing with a .500 hitting percentage.
Aajah Vazquez chipped in five kills and two block assists, while Ava Baker contributed five block assists. Niya Nash directed the offense with 16 assists and two service aces, while Kathryn Liles added 14 assists. Defensively, libero Brenna Raymond led Batten with 17 digs as the Marlins finished with seven team blocks.
How It Happened
Set One: Batten 25, Randolph-Macon 14
Randolph-Macon opened the match with an early 7-3 advantage, but the Marlins quickly found their rhythm behind an impressive serving run from Smith. Batten rattled off 10 consecutive points to turn a four-point deficit into a commanding 13-7 lead. Nolan provided four kills during the stretch, while Moody added two to help swing momentum in Batten's favor.
The Marlins continued to control the opening frame, extending their lead to 19-12 before a service ace from Nash and another Moody kill pushed the advantage to 22-13. Batten closed out the set 25-14, hitting an outstanding .455 with 16 kills and just one attacking error.
Set Two: Batten 25, Randolph-Macon 18
The second set featured a more competitive start, with neither team able to establish a significant advantage through the opening exchanges. Randolph-Macon briefly moved ahead 11-9 before the Marlins battled back to even the score at 14-14.
A kill from Moody sparked a four-point Batten run, giving the Marlins a 17-14 advantage. Batten maintained control down the stretch, with Moody adding another kill to extend the lead to 18-15.
After the Yellow Jackets trimmed the deficit to 19-17, Batten responded by scoring six of the final seven points. Smith recorded back-to-back kills to push the lead to 22-18 before the Marlins closed the set with three consecutive points, taking a 2-0 match advantage.
Set Three: Randolph-Macon 25, Batten 20
The third set proved to be the closest of the evening, featuring 11 ties and three lead changes. Randolph-Macon established an early 5-2 lead, but Batten responded with consecutive kills from Moody to even the score at 5-5.
The teams continued to trade points throughout the middle portion of the frame, with neither side able to pull away. A block from Vazquez and York gave Batten its first lead of the set at 17-16, but the Yellow Jackets answered to regain the advantage.
York recorded a kill to tie the score at 19-19 before Randolph-Macon used a three-point run to take a 22-19 lead. Smith briefly halted the momentum with a kill, but the Yellow Jackets secured the final three points to extend the match to a fourth set.
Set Four: Batten 25, Randolph-Macon 18
Determined to close out the conference matchup, Batten came out aggressively in the fourth set. With the score tied 4-4, Vazquez delivered a kill to spark a six-point run that put the Marlins ahead 10-4. Liles added a service ace during the stretch, while Nolan contributed a kill.
The Marlins continued to maintain their advantage, with kills from York and Moody helping extend the lead to 14-9. Batten later used a three-point run, highlighted by a Vazquez kill and a Raymond service ace, to push the advantage to 18-12.
Randolph-Macon attempted to battle back, but Nolan delivered another kill to give Batten a 20-15 lead. The Marlins followed with two more points, including a kill from Smith, to move within three points of victory.
Batten eventually reached match point at 24-16 before a Randolph-Macon service error sealed the 25-18 fourth-set victory and the 3-1 conference road win.
