HIGH POINT, N.C. - Five members of the University of Mount Olive's men's volleyball team were named to the 2019 Conference Carolinas All-Conference teams as announced by the league office on Wednesday afternoon. UMO lead all institutions with five representatives while Barton and King each placed four on the All-Conference teams.
Highlighting the All-Conference nods are a trio of second-team honorees in Eric Visgitis, Tobi Azeez, and Joel Roberts. Joining the previously mentioned three are Luke Visgitis and Shane Yeo who earned All-Conference third-team honors.
Eric Visgitis was a key player for the Trojans this year making a big impact in the middle of the court putting down crucial kills on attack and making big stops on defense which earned him a spot on the All-Conference second-team. Visgitis was second on the team in kills with 212 including ten matches where he recorded 10+ kills. The sophomore middle blocker led the team in blocks with 90 total, 26 solo and 64 assisted. He also added nine service aces season.
Joining Eric on the second team is freshman Tobi Azeez. Azeez was the team leader in kills with 242 on the season and was fourth on the team with 17 service aces. The Australia native tallied twelve games with 10+ kills including a season and career-best 26 kills against the Crusaders of North Greenville on March 23. Azeez was fifth in digs with 109 and fourth in blocks with 38 total on the year.
Wrapping up the second-team honorees is senior Joel Roberts who made the move from an outside hitter to libero prior to the 2019 season. A native of Great Britain, Roberts led the team and was second in the conference with 259 digs and averaged 2.62 digs per set, which also led the team and was third best in the conference. Roberts had 12 matches of 10+ digs including two 20 dig performances and also added 33 assists and three kills throughout the season for the Trojans.
Earning third-team All-Conference honors are sophomore middle blocker Luke Visgitis and junior setter Shane Yeo.
Yeo was the lead setter for the Trojans who ran a two-setter system throughout the season. Yeo collected 712 assists and averaged 9.75 per set. Over the season, Yeo recorded 10+ assists in 18 of 27 matches with three 60+ games including a season and career-best 64 assists against Limestone on March 22. Yeo tied for the team lead in service aces (21) and was sixth on the team in digs (100). He also added 36 total blocks including 11 solo stops.
Wrapping up the All-Conference honorees is sophomore middle blocker Luke Visgitis. Visgitis was third on the team in kills with 203 throughout the season and averages 2.23 per set. He was second in blocks with 69 total on the year breaking down to 15 solo and 54 assisted. Visgitis served up five aces and assisted on six kills while also collecting 36 digs for UMO.
The Trojans season ended in the quarterfinals of the men's volleyball championship tournament with a five-set loss to Limestone. UMO finished the season 11-16 overall and 9-7 in conference action.
1st Team All-Conference
Angelos Mandalaris, Barton
Liam Maxwell, Belmont Abbey
Sean Kohlhase, King
Vasilis Mandalaris, Barton
Jonathon Wheaton, King
Oscar Fiorentino, Barton
Aleksa Brkovic, Barton
2nd Team All-Conference
Don Thompson, Emmanuel
Jackson Gilbert, North Greenville
Eric Visgitis, Mount Olive
Dalton Johnson, King
Tobi Azeez, Mount Olive
Brennan Davis, Belmont Abbey
Joel Roberts, Mount Olive
3rd Team All-Conference
Luke Visgitis, Mount Olive
Keegan Sullivan, Erskine
Joshua Kim, King
Andrew Kohut, Belmont Abbey
Jordan Barreto, Limestone
Shane Yeo, Mount Olive
Noah Melendez, King