Posted: Mar 31, 2017
Mount Olive, N.C. --- The University of Mount Olive men's volleyball team dropped a hard-fought battle to King University, 25-22, 19-25, 25-22, 23-25, 9-15, on Friday night in Mount Olive, N.C.
GAME INFORMATION
Score: King 3, Mount Olive 2 (25-22, 19-25, 25-22, 23-25, 9-15)
Records: Mount Olive (15-8, 13-3 CC) King (25-2, 14-1 CC)
Location: Kornegay Arena, Mount Olive, N.C.
How It Happened
Play-by-Play
FIRST SET
- After the Trojans earned a narrow 5-3 advantage, King responded with a 3-0 run to take its first lead at 6-5.
- UMO used an 8-2 run to push the Trojans back ahead at 13-8.
- Down the stretch, the Trojans saw their lead dwindle to just one at 20-19 as the Tornado roared back.
- Leading 23-22, UMO closed out the set with kills by senior Alex Palmatier and junior Brett Rutledge to give the Trojans the 25-22 opening set win.
- The Trojans hit .415 to King's .308 in the first frame.
SECOND SET
- UMO opened the set with a 6-4 lead, but King responded quickly with a 6-0 run to give the Tornado a 10-6 advantage.
- After taking the early lead, King never looked back as the Tornado earned the 25-19 second set win.
- UMO hit just .152 in the second set while King continued its hot hitting with a .367 hitting percentage.
THIRD SET
- With the set tied at four early on, a service ace by Rutledge capped off a 3-0 run for the Trojans that gave UMO a 7-4 lead.
- The Tornado pushed back to tie the set on two occasions at 11 and 12, but King could never get in front as the Trojans held on late for the 25-22 set victory.
FOURTH SET
- King asserted itself early with a 5-0 run that gave the Tornado a 6-4 lead.
- The Trojans rebounded with a 5-1 spurt that gave UMO back the lead at 13-11.
- After the lead bounced back-and-forth, King grabbed the lead for good at 16-15 in route to the Tornado's 25-23 set win.
FIFTH SET
- King took control early as the Tornado stormed out to an 8-3 lead.
- The Trojans battled back within four at 10-6, but UMO could draw no closer as King captured the 15-9 set win and the 3-2 match victory.
KEY STATS
- Junior Robert Poole led UMO with 20 kills in the loss.
- Three other Trojans finished with double-digit kills as Rutledge and Palmatier each tallied 12 kills and sophomore Brad Monaghan recorded 10 kills.
- Junior Jeff Yasalonis led the way for the Trojans with 54 assists while junior Josh Donahue added a team-best 19 digs.
- The Trojans were outhit in the match by King, .345 to .297.
Up Next
The Trojans return to action on Saturday when UMO takes on Lees-McRae College at 2 p.m. for senior day in Kornegay Arena.