Bret Rutledge continued to have the hot hand with 16 kills, three blocks and three aces as University of Mount Olive rebounded with a 25-18, 25-20, 25-15 victory over University of Charleston in non-conference men's volleyball Saturday at Charleston, W. Va. The win gives the Trojans a split in its two matches on their West Virginia trip after Friday's five-set loss at Alderson-Broaddus in which Rutledge tallied a career-high and near school record 27 kills.
Mount Olive (9-8) capitalized on a series of Charleston errors to break away from a 12-12 tie in the first set and back-to-back kills by Alex Palmatier and a kill by Rutledge helped the Trojans a 22-15 lead. Charleston came back with three unanswered points, but another kill by Palmatier halted the run and Andrew Sydow recorded a kill on set point.
In the second set, Ryan Thomas' kill broke a 3-3 tie and the Trojans led the remainder of the set. Charleston stayed within five points throughout the set, but never got closer than two points. Rutledge's kill on set point gave Mount Olive a two-set lead.
Mount Olive trailed early in the third set and held a narrow two-point lead before finishing the match with eight straight points. Victor Zamudio's kill triggered the match-ending run and Rutledge served all of his aces during the run to seal the win.
Sydow had a match-high five blocks, while Tyler Yanez added three blocks and 31 assists. Josh Donahue recorded nine digs.
Mount Olive is idle until next weekend when the Trojans are at home for a pair of Conference Carolinas matches. The Trojans play host to Lees-McRae Friday night and entertain King Saturday afternoon.