ASHLAND, Va. — Junior outside hitter Brynne Gould (Boone, N.C./Watauga) recorded the 1,000th kill of her career, but the fifth-seeded Washington and Lee volleyball team fell at top-seeded Randolph-Macon, 3-1, on Friday in the semifinals of the ODAC Tournament at Crenshaw Gym.
 
The Generals (24-10) held an 18-13 lead in the first set, but the Yellow Jackets (25-7) went on a 7-1 run to assume a 20-19 advantage. W&L evened the stanza, 20-20, on a kill by junior middle blocker Courtney Berry (Charlottesville, Va./Western Albemarle), but then R-MC won the next three points en route to taking the first, 25-23.
 
In the second, Randolph-Macon led, 11-6, but a 10-1 spurt, highlighted by five blocks for the Blue and White, pushed W&L in front, 16-12. The Yellow Jackets again responded by winning eight of the next 11 points to grab a 20-19 lead.
 
The Generals won the next three rallies, capped on an ace by first-year defensive specialist Caroline Gard (Naperville, Ill./Benet Academy), to take a 22-20 lead. Holding a 23-22 edge a few points later, W&L closed out the set (25-23) on a kill by Berry and a combination block from Berry and senior outside hitter Allison Webb (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Westlake).
 
The teams were tied, 23-23, late in the third, and then a kill by senior outside hitter Miranda Hall gave R-MC a one-point edge (24-23). An attack error by Hall evened the set, 24-24, but another kill by the Yellow Jackets put R-MC in front, 25-24. A kill by Gould extended the stanza, but Randolph-Macon took the set, 27-25, with a combo block and a kill by senior right side Bailey Jones.
 
With the Blue and White leading 12-11 in the fourth, Randolph-Macon tallied five straight points to grab a 16-12 advantage. The Generals trimmed the deficit to 18-17, but another 3-1 run by the Yellow Jackets extended the margin to three (21-18). W&L only scored two more points the rest of the way, as R-MC secured the set, 25-20, and the match, 3-1.
 
Gould finished with 19 kills and 23 digs. She now has 1,017 kills over her three years. She is the 13th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 career kills. Gould has 464 kills this year, which is the third-most in a single-season in W&L history.
 
Gard notched 21 digs to push her season total to 601. She is just the second player in program history to register at least 600 digs in a year.
 
Berry had six kills and a career-best nine blocks. The nine blocks are tied for the sixth-most in a single match in W&L history. Berry now has 123 blocks this year, which is the fourth-most in a single-season in program history.
 
Sophomore middle blocker Katy Blain (West Palm Beach, Fla./Benjamin School) totaled six kills on nine swings for a .667 hitting percentage and added three blocks. First-year setter Ashley Webb (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Westlake) had 33 assists.
 
The Yellow Jackets had four players with at least 10 kills led by Hall with 14. First-year outside hitter Grace Parker had 12 kills and 12 digs, and sophomore defensive specialist Madison Warlick tallied 25 digs.  
 
With the loss, the Generals would need an at-large bid to reach the NCAA Tournament. The team will probably be on the outside looking in, as W&L was sixth in the South Region in the most recent NCAA Regional Rankings.