Mount Olive remained undefeated in conference play Tuesday night, sweeping Limestone 25-23, 25-22, 25-18 in Conference Carolinas men's volleyball play at Gaffney, S.C. The Trojans never trailed after falling behind 1-0 in the opening game. Adam Miracle led the Trojans with 13 kills and six digs, while Angel Dache added 11 kills and four digs.
In the opening set, the Trojans (12-3 overall, 10-0 CC) led just 20-18 when a service and an attack error by Limestone put the Trojans on the cusp of a 1-0 lead. After a kill by Kevin Hart stopped the momentum briefly, Ben Casado assisted on kills by Miracle and Dache for a 24-19 lead. The Saints fought off four set points to trim the lead to 24-23 before Tim Ebbecke put the game away.
In the second set, Mount Olive threatened to run away early. Two kills by Alex Rivero and one each from Dache and Miracle gave the Trojans a 4-0 lead. Mount Olive stretched the lead to 13-4 with a 5-0 run spearheaded by kills from Rivero and Ebbecke and three attack errors by the Saints.
Still down 17-10, Limestone fought its way back into the game with four consecutive points. A kill by Eric Zaun and a bad set by Mount Olive closed the gap to 20-18.
Dache delivered a kill and a bad attack by the Saints made it 22-18 before Limestone battled back to 23-21. The teams traded attack errors before Dache delivered the game-winner.
In the clincher, the Trojans never trailed, but struggled to pull away from the Saints until a 6-1 run midway through the set gave Mount Olive some breathing room.
Limestone trailed just 10-9 when Ebbecke delivered a kill, Dache followed with one of his own, and three straight errors by Limestone made it 16-10. Limestone briefly got within two at 19-17, before the Trojans pulled away for good.
Kills from Rivero and Miracle gave the Trojans the final margin.
Casado finished with 34 assists for the Trojans, while Richard Hesse had three blocks.
The Trojans continue their seven-game, 17-day road trip Saturday when Mount Olive takes on Lees-McRae in Banner Elk, N.C. beginning at 2 p.m.