MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. --- The University of Mount Olive men's volleyball team battled back down by two sets to force a fifth set but ultimately fell in the fifth set to King University in a Conference Carolinas matchup at Kornegay Arena in Mount Olive, N.C Friday afternoon. The Trojans came back the following afternoon to defeat the Lees-McRae Bobcats in straight sets to split the weekends' Conference Carolinas contests.
GAME 1 INFORMATION
Score: King 3, Mount Olive 2 (25-21, 25-21, 19-25, 27-29, 16-14)
Records: Mount Olive (8-5, 5-2), Barton (8-6, 6-0)
Location: Kornegay Arena | Mount Olive, N.C.
How It Happened
Play-by-Play
FIRST SET
- King opened the match taking seven of the first ten points over Mount Olive.
- The Trojans came back to trail by one, 11-10, before the Tornado went up by three, 18-15, following the 7-5 run.
- UMO again pulled within one point, 19-18, but King managed to hold off Mount Olive to win set one 25-21.
SECOND SET
- UMO opened the second set going up 8-6 early on, but King put together four straight points to take the 10-8 lead.
- The Trojans cut the three-point Tornado lead by tying the set up at 15 all.
- A 4-1 run by King gave them another three-point lead, 19-16, forcing a Mount Olive timeout.
- UMO fought to make a comeback, but the Tornado staved off the rally winning the second set 25-21.
THIRD SET
- Mount Olive scored the first five points of the third set on three aces by Robert Poole, a kill by Jerell Rogers and an error by King.
- The Trojans went on a 5-3 run giving UMO the 10-5 lead as King called their first timeout.
- Coming back from the timeout the Trojans went on yet another five-point run taking a 15-5 lead over the Tornado.
- King closed the gap as they went on a 14-7 run forcing Mount Olive to call timeout leading just 22-19.
- An Eric Vigistis kill, a Poole ace and an attack error by King gave the Trojans the final three points of the set to win 25-19.
FOURTH SET
- The fourth set was a battle back and forth through the opening services as neither team held more than a three-point lead until King managed to put together five consecutive points taking the 13-9 lead.
- Mount Olive battled back to tie the set four times, at 14, 15, 16, and 17 all, before King went on a three-point run taking the 20-17 lead.
- A Poole kill and a pair of Bret Rutledge aces tied the set again at 20 and spurred a point-for-point battle that resulted in the Trojans winning 29-27 and tying up the match points at two sets apiece.
FIFTH SET
- The Trojans got the first two points on back-to-back kills by Poole and Brad Monaghan.
- King came back on a 5-1 run to take a 5-3 lead.
- Four kills and an ace gave Mount Olive an 8-6 lead as the teams switched sides before action resumed.
- King scored four of the next five points going up by one, 10-9, halfway through the set.
- UMO came back on a 5-3 run holding a slim one-point lead, 14-13, as King called timeout.
- Following the timeout, the Tornado managed to put together three consecutive points to win the tiebreaker set 16-14 and the match 3-2.
KEY STATS
- Robert Poole led the Trojans attack with 24 kills and six service aces. He also tallied 10 digs and contributed on a block.
- Brad Monaghan had a very good game as he smacked down 15 kills on 35 attempts, doled out an assist, an ace and eight digs as well as combining for five total blocks.
- Jeff Yasalonis led with 47 assists and a team-high 17 digs. Yasalonis also recorded a solo block and assisted on two more during the game.
- Josh Donahue added five assists of his own on top of his 15 digs.
- The teams 58 kills is the second most of the season.
- A total of 64 team digs is a new season high for Mount Olive.
GAME 2 INFORMATION
Score: Mount Olive 3, Lees-McRae 0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-13)
Records: Mount Olive (9-5, 6-2), Lees-McRae (2-11, 0-6)
Location: Kornegay Arena | Mount Olive, N.C.
How It Happened
Play-by-Play
FIRST SET
- After scoring the first three points of the match, the Trojans let the Bobcats creep up to trail by one, 5-4, before UMO put down four straight points to go ahead by five, 9-4.
- The Bobcats stayed within four points of the Trojans midway through the set but Mount Olive kicked things into gear as they went on a 5-2 run that gave the home team a seven-point 18-11 lead.
- Mount Olive closed out the set on a 7-3 spurt winning 25-14 and taking the 1-0 match lead.
SECOND SET
- Lees-McRae kept with Mount Olive going point-for-point through the opening serves.
- The Bobcats took a two-point lead, 8-6, following a 3-0 run, but the Trojans countered with a 4-1 run taking the one-point, 10-9 lead.
- The score tied up twice before UMO scored six consecutive points to go ahead 18-12 late in the set.
- UMO was too much for LMC as the home Trojans went on a 9-4 run to win the second set 25-16.
THIRD SET
- Mount Olive carried the momentum from the first two sets into the third as they quickly went ahead of the Bobcats 13-4.
- The Trojan lead grew to as much as 13 points as Mount Olive continued to dominate the set winning 25-13 and the match 3-0.
KEY STATS
- Freshman Jerell Rogers led the team in kills with 10 on 14 attempts hitting .714%. Rogers also added two digs and assisted on three blocks.
- Robert Poole and Brad Monaghan each had seven kills and two service aces.
UP NEXT
The Trojans return to action on Tuesday, February 27, as they head to Hartsville, S.C. to face the Coker Cobras for the second time this season. In the Trojans last encounter with the Cobras, UMO emerged the winner in three sets back on February 13. Match time between the two squads is set for 7 p.m.