The Randolph-Henry High School varsity volleyball team completed its 2016 campaign Nov. 1, bowing out to the Nottoway High School Lady Cougars 3-1 in the quarterfinals of the Conference 34 tournament.

The No. 5-seeded Lady Statesmen traveled to No. 4 Nottoway to try to avenge a regular season loss the week before and got off to a slow start, falling 25-16 in the opening set.

It looked like Randolph-Henry gained some momentum in the second set. Led by four aces from Hannah Pascuita, the Statesmen kept things close before Nottoway pulled away late to take the 25-21 win.

Randolph-Henry was not ready to end its season just yet, however. Behind three of Kierra Jones’ 10 kills and nine of Kimmi Horsfall’s 22 digs, they rebounded in the third to take a 25-20 win and send the match to a fourth frame.

Jones kept things going in the fourth game with four more kills, and Annie Sandridge added three of her 10 to help the team tie things up at 21-21. Three Lady Cougar kills put things out of reach, though, and the Lady Statesmen’s season ended with a 25-22 loss.

“We were really proud of the way that the girls played on Thursday,” said Randolph-Henry Head Coach Shep Critzer. “They came with the kind of energy and focus that we needed to compete and gave themselves a chance to win or take the match to a fifth game against a good team. We have kept getting better with each game this season, and it was evident in how we played on Thursday.”

With the loss, Randolph-Henry finished the season 8-13 overall and 8-8 in the James River District.