Trojans Defeat Belmont Abbey In Three Sets - Clinch No. 3 Seed In Men's Volleyball Conference Tournament

Trojans Defeat Belmont Abbey In Three Sets - Clinch No. 3 Seed In Men's Volleyball Conference Tournament

Robert Poole and Andrew Sydow each recorded two kills in a match-ending 9-3 run as University of Mount Olive rallied from a one-set deficit for a 24-26, 25-21, 25-23, 25-18 victory over Belmont Abbey College in Conference Carolinas men's volleyball Friday at Belmont, N.C. With the win, the Trojans clinched the No. 3 seed and a first-round home match in the 2015 Conference Carolinas Men's Volleyball Tournament. Friday's contest was the Trojans' regular season finale.

Mount Olive (14-10 overall, 11-7 Conference Carolinas) trailed 11-9 in the fourth set before Andrew Sydow's kill and consecutive blocks by Peyton Schirman and Tyler Yanez put the Trojans in the lead. Three consecutive Belmont Abbey errors helped give the Trojans a three-point lead.

Belmont Abbey (12-13, 8-9) pulled within 16-14, but Poole notched a pair of kills to help Mount Olive run off six unanswered points. Sydow answered two Crusader side outs with kills to give the Trojans a 24-17 lead. Belmont Abbey saved one match point, but Peyton Schirman's kill sealed the win for Mount Olive.

After dropping the first set, Mount Olive raced out to a 6-1 lead in the second set. Sydow's kill gave the Trojans their biggest lead at 14-7. Belmont Abbey scored six of the next seven points to pull within two points, but Schirman's solo block gave Mount Olive a 19-14 lead. The margin never fell below three points as the Trojans evened the match at a set apiece.

Mount Olive trailed 19-15 in the third set before back-to-back blocks by Mike Mann capped a four-point Trojan run and tied the set. A pair of kills by Schirman and a block by Sydow gave Mount Olive a 24-21 lead. Belmont Abbey saved two set points, but after a Mount Olive timeout, Poole recorded a kill to give the Trojans a 2-1 lead in sets.

Sydow finished with 14 kills, Mann recorded 12 kills and Schirman added 11 kills. Sydow (.632) and Mann (.625) committed only two attack errors apiece and both players finished with a hitting percentage above .600. Schirman tallied a match-high six blocks to help the Trojans record a team total of 14.0 blocks. Yanez recorded 51 assists and Josh Donahue led the Trojans defensively with 15 digs.

Brennan Beyner led all players with 17 kills for Belmont Abbey.

Mount Olive will host the No. 6 seed in the first round of the Conference Carolinas Tournament Saturday, April 18, at Kornegay Arena. Opponent and match time are still to be determined.