Kian Hollevoet recorded 12 kills and Peyton Schirman added 11 kills and three aces as University of Mount Olive withstood a late rally for a 25-21, 25-16, 27-29, 25-20 over Lees-McRae College in Conference Carolinas men's volleyball Friday at Kornegay Arena. Both Hollevoet (.409) and Schirman (.400) hit .400 or better and helped the Trojans compile a team hitting percentage of .353, including a .619 hitting percentage in the fourth set.
Mount Olive (6-3 overall, 5-2 Conference Carolinas) raced out to a 13-6 lead in the opening set as Robert Poole had a kill and two blocks. Lees-McRae used back-to-back aces by John Sobel during a 6-0 run to pull the Bobcats within 15-14. A Lees-McRae attack error and aces by Schirman and Jeff Yasalonis kept Mount Olive in the lead. The Trojans scored eight points on Bobcat service errors, including set point.
In the second set, a pair of kills by Schirman and a kill and a block by Mike Mann highlighted a 9-3 run that put the Trojans ahead 19-11. Schirman and Alex Palmatier added back-to-back double blocks as Mount Olive went on to grab a two-set lead.
Lees-McRae (0-10, 0-8) built a 12-8 lead in the third set after another ace by Sobel and a pair of kills by Mark Shayka. Mount Olive rallied to go on top 19-18, but two more kills by Shayka helped give the Bobcats a 23-21. The Trojans scored the next two points, then fought off four consecutive set points. Lees-McRae used a Trojan service error and another kill by Shayka to stay in the match and force a fourth set.
In the fourth set, Schirman's kill broke an 8-8 tie and put the Trojans ahead to stay. Mount Olive extended the lead to 20-16 when libero Ryan Thomas turned a service reception in a kill after the ball landed in the middle of the Lees-McRae floor. The margin never fell below three points and Mount Olive scored its final two points on Bobcat errors. The Trojans recorded 13 kills and no errors in 21 attempts in the final set.
Yasalonis finished with 39 assists for Mount Olive, while Thomas led all players with 12 digs.
Sobel had match highs of 24 kills and five aces for Lees-McRae and Shayka added 17 kills as the pair combined for 41 of the Bobcats' 49 kills. Setter Drew Blecher had 44 assists.
Friday's contest was the second of three Conference Carolinas home matches in three days for Mount Olive. The Trojans conclude their homestand Saturday against King University. Match time is 2 p.m. at Kornegay Arena.