University of Mount Olive posted a win in the third set and took an early three-point lead in the fourth set, but the rally came up short as the Trojans fell to Division I Princeton University 25-16, 25-20, 23-25, 25-19 in non-conference men's volleyball Wednesday at Kornegay Arena. The contest marked the first time a Trojan athletics team has hosted an Ivy League school in any sport.
After dropping the first two sets, Mount Olive (10-10) used a pair of aces by Renzo Rossato and kills by Angel Dache and Lewis Einarson to jump out to a 6-2 lead in the third set. Princeton rallied to take its first lead at 9-8 on a Trojan attack error.
Princeton (11-7) built the lead to 18-15 after back-to-back blocks by Junior Oboh, but Dache and Mike Mann combined on a block to help rally the Trojans to a 20-20 tie. A triple block by Dache, Mann and Rossato broke a 23-23 tie and Dache's ace on set point extended the match to a fourth set.
In the fourth set, Garrett Dimm's ace and back-to-back blocks by Mann highlighted a 6-1 run to give Mount Olive a 7-4 lead. Princeton's Kurt Theimann came off the bench to serve back-to-back aces in a six-point run to put the Tigers ahead to stay. The margin grew to as many as five points before a pair of kills by Dache pulled the Trojans within 18-16. Princeton scored seven of the final 10 points to clinch the match.
Prior to Wednesday's contest, Mount Olive was 2-0 all-time against Ivy League schools. The Trojans posted a pair of wins over Harvard during the 2008 men's volleyball season.
Dache led Mount Olive with 15 kills, three aces and five blocks, while Mann recorded a match-high seven blocks. Quaid Marin finished with 37 assists for the Trojans. Einarson added eight kills and only one error in 12 attempts.
Princeton was led by Devin Stearns with a match-high 17 kills, while Pat Schwagler added 12 kills. Davis Waddell recorded 50 assists.
Mount Olive resumes Conference Carolinas play with a pair of away matches this weekend. The Trojans are at Lees-McRae Friday evening and at King Saturday afternoon.