Winchester, Va. -- On Saturday, the Mount Aloysius Women's Volleyball team played their first two official games of the 2020-21 season, as they traveled to Shenandoah to take on Randolph and Shenandoah, in a tri-match. They ended in a split, beating Randolph, 3-1, before falling to the hosts, 3-0.

Leaders
- Senior, Machala Gibbons (Cairnbrook, PA, Bishop McCort), led the Mounties with 27 kills on the day. She also registered 59 digs, between the two matches.
- Ashlee Parrish (Northern Cambria, PA, Northern Cambria) also added 19 kills for Mount Aloysius.
- Freshman, Emma Colyer (Orlando, FL, Olympia), had 31 assists on the day. Hannah Atzeni (Sligo, PA, Union) added 23 assists.
- Another freshman, Emily Henry (Carrolltown, PA, Cambria Heights), tallied a team-high, four blocks.

How It Happened

Game 1
- The Mounties jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first set against Randolph.
- Both teams traded points frequently, with Randolph cutting into the lead slowly. A 5-0 run by the Wildcats put them up 17-16.
- With Randolph leading 20-19, the Mounties went on a 5-1 stretch, including two Gibbons kills. The run put them ahead 24-21.
- After the Wildcats cut it to 24-23, Kylie Wadsworth (Sidman, PA, Forest Hills) earned a kill that won the first set for Mount Aloysius.
- Mount Aloysius jumped out again early in set two, leading by as many as seven, at 13-6.
- Randolph again fought back to tie the set at 24 a piece. Two 'Cat errors led to Mountie points, making the game 2-0.
- Set three saw Randolph jump out to a commanding lead from the get-go, starting 6-1, and leading by as many as 14 points.
- The Mounties fought hard to get back into it, but lost the third set, 25-16.
- In the final set of the match, Mount Aloysius jumped ahead early, leading 7-1.
- Following two consecutive kills by Parrish, the Mounties led 17-12. Randolph responded by scoring eight of the next nine points, to take a 20-18 lead.
- Mount Aloysius finished strong, scoring the final seven points of the set, including three kills by Gibbons and one by Henry. The set finished 25-20, making the final score 3-1 Mounties.

Game 2
- The first set of the Mounties second game of the day, started extremely close, at 16-15, with a Shenandoah advantage. To that point, the longest scoring streak had been three.
- Shenandoah put the Mounties away, scoring the final nine points of the set. 1-0 Hornets.
- Set two was again close, staying close to a two-point advantage in either direction, for most of the set. The Hornets made their biggest run to get a five point lead, 18-13. Mount Aloysius responded with a 6-1 run, to tie the set at 19.
- The Hornets outscored the Mounties 6-3, down the stretch, making the game, 2-0, in their favor.
- In the final set, Shenandoah exploded for the first six points, on their way to a third set victory. Mount Aloysius fell behind by as many as nine, but could only get as close as six, on the way to getting swept.

Game Notes
- All three squads made their official season debuts on Saturday. Only Mount Aloysius had faced an outside opponent, going into the game, with their exhibition game against Potomac State. Both Randolph and Shenandoah will be playing full conference schedules, as members of the ODAC, moving forward.
- All five freshmen made their official debuts for the Mounties. Colyer and Henry were joined by Madison Johnson (Hopewell, PA, Northern Bedford County), Bella Kies (Bellwood, PA, Bellwood-Antis ), and Sydney Lechner (Bellwood, PA, Bellwood-Antis ).

Up Next
The Mounties will travel to nearby, Indiana (PA), next Saturday for a scrimmage. The rest of the Mountie schedule and any future links can be found on the team schedule page.