Randolph's run as Morris County Tournament champion ended on Friday, but the team walked out of the final with its heads high. The defending champions reached the county final again and fell 3-0 to a powerhouse Mount Olive team, 25-13, 25-11 and 25-17, finishing the tournament as finalists with a 12-5 record. Getting back to the last match of the county tournament is an achievement by itself, and Randolph earned its place there all over again.
Randolph's road back to the final included a straight-sets semifinal win over Morris Tech, and for two sets on Friday, Mount Olive's attack — led by tournament MVP Olivia Drucks and her 24 kills — was simply a wave that kept coming. Great teams sometimes run into a great night from an opponent, and that is what Friday was. What matters is how a team responds inside the match, and Randolph's answer came in the third set.
That third set showed the Panthers' heart. Randolph had not led all night until junior middle Maria Fuentes delivered back-to-back points to put her team in front 4-3, Randolph's first lead of the match. From there Randolph made the final set the closest of the night, pushing Mount Olive to 25-17 and forcing the champions to earn every last point. Champions defend their crown with pride, and Randolph defended its own exactly that way — competing hardest when the match was nearly gone.
A 12-5 record, a semifinal sweep and another trip to the county final is a season most programs would celebrate, and Randolph should. The Panthers proved they belong on the county's biggest stage for the second straight year, and the fight they showed in that third set is exactly what a team carries into the state tournament. This group is not done making noise.
Stars of the Game: Maria Fuentes, the Spark, whose back-to-back points gave Randolph its first lead of the night in the third set. And the Randolph squad, the Back-to-Back Finalists, who returned to the county championship match and battled to the final point.
Game details compiled from published box scores.