Garrett Dimm led four players in double figures with a career-high 20 kills as University of Mount Olive stormed back from a first-set loss with a 26-28, 25-17, 25-14, 25-23 victory over King University in Conference Carolinas men's volleyball Saturday at Kornegay Arena. The win was the Trojans' third in a row.
After neither team led by more than two points at any time during the first set, Mount Olive (4-6 overall, 3-2 Conference Carolinas) used five kills by Dimm to take an 8-3 lead in the second set. One of Dimm's kills came on his diving serve reception when the ball landed in an open spot on the King court. King drew within 10-9 after a pair of Trojan attack errors and an ace by Kiel Bell.
The Trojans pulled away again as Lewis Einarson recorded three kills in a 4-1 run and the margin never fell below three points the remainder of the set. Angel Dache's kill on set point evened the match at one set apiece. Dimm had eight of his kills in the second set.
The third set was all Mount Olive as service aces by Quaid Marin and Angel Dache helped the Trojans race out to a 14-3 advantage. King never got any closer than eight points and Steven Cruse's kill triggered a three-point run that gave Mount Olive an 18-7 lead and the margin stayed in double figures the rest of the way.
It was King (5-4, 2-2) that got off to the fast start in the fourth set as the Tornado capitalized on Trojan attack errors to build a 4-1 lead. Mount Olive scored the next three points and an ace by Cruse capped a 6-1 run that gave the Trojans a 13-8 lead. Mount Olive remained on top for the remainder of the set, but was never able to pull away from King.
Mount Olive was still up 16-11 when Mason Casner scored three straight points for King on back-to-back kills and a block. The Trojans built the lead back up to three before kills by Eddie Moushikhian and Matthew Lychock pulled the Tornado within 21-20. The two teams exchanged side outs and Cruse's kill gave Mount Olive a 24-22 lead. Nick Serowski's kill saved one match point for King, but Dache recorded a kill on match point to clinch the win.
The Trojans had a chance to serve for the opening set after a kill by Dimm broke a 23-23 tie, but Moushikhian's kill saved a set point for King. Mount Olive saved a pair of set points before Matthew Delong scored the final two points on a block and an ace to give the Tornado their lone set win.
Dache had 16 kills for Mount Olive, while Einarson added 15 kills and Cruse finished with 11, marking the first time this season four Trojans reached double figures. Marin recorded a career-high 57 kills and added seven digs, while his brother, Keaton Marin, notched a team-high eight digs. The Trojans compiled a .366 team hitting percentage for the match and hit at a .427 clip over the final three sets.
Serowski led King with 16 kills, while Casner and Moushikhian added 12 kills apiece. Moushikhian recorded a double-double with a match-high 10 digs. Delong had 45 assists.
Saturday's contest was Mount Olive's last home match until March 11 and the Trojans have only two regular season home matches remaining. Mount Olive travels to Misenheimer, N.C., Tuesday for a Conference Carolinas match-up against Pfeiffer. Match time is 7 p.m.