Alex Rivero and Renzo Rossato combined for 11 of Mount Olive's 17 service aces as the Trojans remained unbeaten in conference play with a 25-11, 25-14, 25-18 victory over Coker in Conference Carolinas men's volleyball Tuesday at Kornegay Arena. Rossato served six aces and Rivero had five as the Trojans recorded their second-highest team ace total in school history.
Mount Olive (6-1 overall, 5-0 Conference Carolinas) used a pair of aces by Richard Hesse to jump out to an 8-1 lead in the first set. Coker (0-2, 0-1) cut a nine-point deficit down to five before Rossato served three consecutive aces during a seven-point run to give the Trojans a 21-9 lead as Mount Olive went on to take the first set.
Coker, which is in its first year of men's volleyball and playing in its first-ever conference match, led 9-6 in the second set after a pair of kills by Luke Grupe. Mount Olive tied the set at 10-10 after a kill by Rossato, who followed with back-to-back aces to put the Trojans ahead to stay. Rivero served three aces during a five-point service run and Bastian Steppin closed out the set with an ace.
A pair of kills by Luke Hansen helped Coker stay close in the third set before a kill and an ace by Rivero sandwiched around a kill by Rossato capped a 6-2 Mount Olive run to give the Trojans a 15-9 lead. Another kill by Hansen pulled Coker within 22-18, but Mount Olive scored the final three points of the contest, including an ace by Rivero on match point.
The Trojan team record for aces in a match is 20, set last year against Wells (N.Y.). Mount Olive recorded 17 kills against York (N.Y.) during the 2011 season. The individual school record is nine by current Trojan starting setter Ben Casado in last year's match against Wells.
Rivero shared match-high honors with 10 kills and had only one error in 14 attempts for a .643 hitting percentage. Rossato added seven kills and only one error in 10 attempts for a .600 hitting percentage. As a team, Mount Olive finished with a .418 hitting percentage.
Quaid Marin got his first start of the season at setter and recorded 24 assists. Tim Ebbecke led all players with three blocks. Mount Olive sat out three starters and played its bench for the entire second and third sets.
Coker was led by Hansen with 10 kills and a .421 hitting percentage. Hansen and Cooper Lyon finished with four digs apiece, while Richard Ferrer finished with 16 assists.
Tuesday's contest marked the end of Mount Olive's four-match homestand. The Trojans head up to the Keystone State this weekend for a pair of matches against Division I opponents. The Trojans travel to Loretto, Pa., Friday to take on Saint Francis, then face nationally sixth-ranked Penn State Saturday at University Park, Pa. Match time both nights is 7 p.m.