MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. --- The University of Mount Olive men's volleyball team fell in three sets to the No. 1 Beach of Long Beach State University on Thursday night in the season and home opener at Kornegay Arena in Mount Olive, N.C. Freshman Tobi Azeez led the Trojan attack with eight kills while senior Brad Monaghan followed with six.
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Long Beach State 3, Mount Olive 0 (25-14, 25-15 25-17)
Records: Mount Olive (0-1), Long Beach State (4-0)
Location: Kornegay Arena | Mount Olive, N.C.
How It Happened
Play-by-Play
FIRST SET
- Long Beach State opened the match with three straight points on two kills and a Trojan attack error to take a 3-0 lead.
- Mount Olive countered with a 5-2 run to tie the match at five all following back to back kills by Eric Visgitis. The run also included two kills from Luke Visgitis and one from Brad Monaghan.
- An 8-2 rally by the Beach gave the reigning champs a 13-7 lead forcing UMO to call a timeout.
- Mount Olive came out of the timeout scoring five points on a kill by Tobi Azeez and four service errors by LBSU.
- UMO called their second timeout of the set following an 8-5 run that put the score at 21-12 in Long Beach's favor.
- Azeez put down two kills following the timeout, but the Beach tallied four to close out set one with a 25-14 win.
SECOND SET
- UMO took the first point of the second set following a kill from Iyanu Adebisi.
- Long Beach quickly came back to take a 3-1 lead but the Trojans tied it up at five all on an Eric Visgitis kill and back-to-back solo blocks by Azeez.
- The Beach then went on a 9-0 run that spanned a UMO timeout to take a 14-5 lead midway through the set.
- Mount Olive halted the Long Beach rally with three consecutive kills from Azeez, Monaghan, and Luke Visgitis.
- The Trojans came back to trail by five points, 18-13, following an 8-4 rally that saw five UMO kills and three Beach errors.
- LBSU scored three points heading into a UMO timeout to lead 21-13 and led a 4-2 run following the break to win set two 25-15.
THIRD SET
- The Trojans came out in the third set to take a 3-2 lead in the opening services on a Beach service error and two kills by Monaghan.
- LBSU came back to take a 6-3 lead following a four-point run, but UMO tied the set at six all on an LBSU error, an ace by Eric Visgitis and a kill by Jarrod Ferguson.
- Mount Olive kept things close trailing by one, 10-9, midway through the third set, but three straight points by Long Beach forced the Trojans to call a timeout trailing 13-9.
- The Beach came out of the timeout on an 8-3 run that put the score at 21-12.
- UMO interrupted the run to pull within six points 21-15 following a 4-1 streak of their own that included two Azeez kills, a Nicolas Laxar ace and a service error by the Beach.
- Azeez tallied two more kills to put UMO up to 17 points but LBSU scored the four points needed to take the final set 25-17 and the match 3-0.
KEY STATS
- UMO held LBSU to three kills under their per set average of 15.33.
- Freshman Tobi Azeez led the Trojan attack with eight kills and two solo blocks.
- Senior Brad Monaghan was just behind with six kills on the evening.
- Shane Yeo tallied 21 assists in the contest while Nicolas Laxar and Eric Visgitis each recorded aces.
UP NEXT
Mount Olive's season kicks off with a tough schedule over four days. Including the game against No. 1 Long Beach State, the Trojans play four matches in as many days, including three matches against Top-10 opponents. UMO will hit the road for three road contests in Tennessee starting with No. 8 Loyola (Ill.) on Friday, Jan. 11 at 5 PM. The Trojans follow with a match on Saturday, Jan. 12, against No. 9 Lewis at 6 PM, and conclude the trip with a Sunday matinee at Lincoln Memorial in Cumberland Gap, Tenn., on Jan. 13 at 1 PM.
