In a battle of two teams looking for their first conference win, Eastern Mennonite locked up with Randolph in Lynchburg Tuesday night. More importantly, the EMU volleyball women were looking to end a 12-match losing skid. The women took a 2-1 lead in games, but the WildCats found a way to steal a 3-2 victory.

The Lady Royals jumped on their hosts early, scoring the first nine points of the contest. The WildCats never got closer than six, as EMU took set one 25-17.

Randolph used an 8-2 run midway through the second set to grab control and win 25-19.

Set three was full of short runs. The WildCats used a late 3-0 run to grab a 23-20 lead, but the Lady Royals answered with a 5-0 run to steal the win, 25-23.

The women looked to have momentum in set four, after a 4-0 spurt put them ahead 17-14. An 11-1 set-ending run from Randolph broke their stride, however, forcing a game five.

With a 5-0 run early, EMU looked to have an edge with a 6-2 lead. But the WildCats grabbed a 9-8 lead and the battle was on. The Lady Royals scored two straight to regain the lead, 10-9, but Randolph closed the match on a 6-1 run, stealing a 15-11 win.

Monika Burkholder (Linville, Va./Eastern Mennonite) led Eastern Mennonite with 18 kills and a .293 hitting percentage. Fellow senior Elisa Troyer (Harrisonburg, Va./Broadway) added 12 kills and 10 digs.

Setter Julyanna Anderson (Front Royal, Va./Skyline) lofted 27 assists to go with 11 digs and two service aces. Tabitha Bowman (Waynesboro, Va./Stuarts Draft) added 16 digs and seven kills. Rachel Lehman (Chambersburg, Pa./Shalom Christian Academy) led all players with 26 digs.

The loss extends EMU's losing streak to 13, as the women drop to 1-13 and 0-4 in ODAC play. The Lady Royals play on the road again Friday night with a conference match at Emory & Henry.