PHOENIX, ARIZ. --- The University of Mount Olive men's volleyball team dropped both contests on day two of the GCU Tournament falling in four sets to Ottawa University and straight sets to No. 13 Grand Canyon on Saturday, March 10, at the Antelope Gymnasium in Phoenix, Arizona.
GAME ONE INFORMATION
Score: Ottawa 3, Mount Olive 1 (19-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-20)
Records: Mount Olive (11-8), Ottawa (10-8)
Location: Phoenix, Ariz.
How It Happened
Play-by-Play
FIRST SET
- The Trojans opened the contest with an early 5-2 lead on three kills, an ace from Bret Rutledge and a Spirit error.
- Five kills and an Eric Visgitis ace combined for a 6-4 run extending the Trojan lead to 11-6.
- Following a 10-10 run for both sides, the Trojans maintained their five-point lead, 21-16.
- UMO closed the set on a 4-1 run, after a pair of Spirit points, to take the first set 25-19.
SECOND SET
- Ottawa came out in the second set with some fire as they quickly went ahead 7-3 through the opening ten serves.
- UMO came back on a 6-3 run to trail by one point, 10-9, before the Spirit recorded three straight kills going up 13-9.
- The Trojans tied the set at 17 all as they came back on an 8-4 run that included four kills, an Eric Visgitis ace, and three Ottawa errors.
- Despite coming within one point of the Spirit, 24-23, the Trojans could not quite catch their opponents who won set two 25-23.
THIRD SET
- The Trojans found themselves behind 8-4 after the first 12 serves of the third set.
- UMO trailed by seven, 14-7, as head coach David Heller called a timeout to settle his squad heading into the latter half of the set.
- Following the timeout, Mount Olive went on an 8-3 run to trail Ottawa by two points, 17-15.
- A 4-1 run by UMO gave the Trojans their first lead of the set, 19-18, that forced Ottawa to call timeout.
- The Spirit came out of their timeout on a 7-2 run to win set three 25-21 and take a 2-1 match lead.
FOURTH SET
- The two squads were tied five all through the opening ten serves but Ottawa went ahead 8-5 on three straight kills by Ilena.
- Ottawa maintained a three-point lead through most of the set until Mount Olive together four consecutive points that tied the set at 19 all.
- UMO scored one more point off a red card by Ottawa but it was the Spirit who came out ahead 25-20 as they put together a 5-0 run that closed set four.
KEY STATS
- UMO tallied more kills (57) than Ottawa (52) but errors were the Trojans downfall as they tallied 23 attack errors compared to Ottawa's 15 attack errors.
- Bret Rutledge tallied a season-high 18 kills to lead the Trojans.
- Robert Poole (12), Luke Visgitis (10) and Brad Monaghan (10) all joined Rutledge in the double-digit kills club.
GAME TWO INFORMATION
Score: No. 13 Grand Canyon 3, Mount Olive 0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-21)
Records: Mount Olive (11-9), No. 13 Grand Canyon (15-6)
Location: Phoenix, Ariz.
How It Happened
Play-by-Play
FIRST SET
- UMO got out to an early 4-1 lead over GCU but the Lopes quickly countered tying the set at four all.
- The set remained close as neither team held more than a two-point lead before the other came back to tie the set.
- After the set tied at 19, all the Lopes went on a 5-1 run taking a 24-20 lead.
- Mount Olive scored three consecutive points pulling within one, 24-23, but an attacking error by the Trojans gave the Lopes the 25-23 set one win.
SECOND SET
- After the set tied five all, Grand Canyon took a slim 8-5 lead on a pair of kills and an ace to open the second set.
- UMO came back on two kills and two GCU errors to tie the set nine all.
- The middle of the set consisted of the Lopes holding a two-point average lead over the Trojans until UMO put together three consecutive points tying the set at 17 all.
- Mount Olive lead 24-22 following a 7-5 run but the Trojans could not close out the set as Grand Canyon won 26-24 after putting together three back-to-back points.
THIRD SET
- The third set was just as competitive as the previous two as the teams sat tied sic all through the opening 12 serves.
- GCU took a five-point lead, 15-10, following a 9-4 run.
- Mount Olive pulled within one, 15-14, following a four-point run but Grand Canyon extended their lead back to four, 18-14.
- UMO tried to rally and come back but the No. 13 Lopes were just out of reach as they won set three 25-21 and the match 3-0.
KEY STATS
- Bret Rutledge was once again the leading attacker for the Trojans with 12 kills on 28 attacks.
- Robert Poole was just behind with 11 kills on 20 attempts.
- Jeff Yasalonis had 34 assists to total 84 on the day after recording 49 in the four-set loss to Ottawa.
UP NEXT
The Trojans are off for a week before hitting the road again traveling to Franklin Springs, Ga., to face the Lions of Emmanuel College on Friday, March 16. The match is set to start at 7 p.m. in a Friday night Conference Carolinas matchup.