Mike Mann provided a spark off the bench in the third set and University of Mount Olive pulled away for a 25-14, 20-25, 25-20, 25-12 victory over Lees-McRae College in Conference Carolinas men's volleyball Friday at Kornegay Arena. Andrew Sydow led the Trojans with 15 kills and a .700 hitting percentage, while Bret Rutledge added 10 kills for his third straight double-figures performance.
Mount Olive (10-8, 8-5) had to settle for a split in the first two sets and was tied 17-17 in the third set when Mann entered for the first time. Rutledge recorded a kill and Mann followed with a three-point service run to give the Trojans a 21-17 lead. The margin never fell below three points the remainder of the set. Victor Fraga Leal scored three of the Trojans' final points of the set with two kills and an ace.
Mann and Peyton Schirman opened the fourth set with back-to-back blocks and Mann added a kill to give Mount Olive a 5-2 lead. Sydow recorded four kills during a 12-3 run to give the Trojans their first double-digit lead at 17-6. Aces by Schirman and Kellan Hollingsworth gave Mount Olive its biggest lead at 23-9. Sydow recorded a kill on match point.
In the opening set, Sydow had four blocks during a 10-2 run to give Mount Olive a 22-11 lead. The Trojans added blocks by Tyler Yanez, Alex Palmatier and Schirman to take the opening set.
Lees-McRae (2-12, 1-9) rebounded in the second set as the Bobcats capitalized on Trojan errors for a set-ending 10-2 run to even the match at a set apiece. Brady Markle and John Sobel combined for four kills during the run.
Sydow had only one attack error in 20 attempts as Mount Olive recorded a team hitting percentage of .348. He also finished with a match-high five blocks, while Schirman added four blocks. The Trojans compiled12.0 blocks as a team. Yanez recorded 44 assists, while Josh Donahue had nine digs.
Markle led all players with 19 kills for Lees-McRae.
Mount Olive returns to action Saturday as the Trojans play host to King in a Conference Carolinas contest. Match time is 2 p.m. at Kornegay Arena.