GREENVILLE, Tennessee - The University of Mount Olive men's volleyball team came away with two wins on the day defeating the Blue Knights of Urbana University and the Pioneers of Tusculum University in straight sets on Saturday afternoon in Greenville, Tenn.
URBANA GAME INFORMATION
Mount Olive took the momentum from the beginning on a 7-to-1 run. After the Blue Knights stopped a bit of pressure at 12-7 a quick three-point spread swap from both teams put UMO ahead by five at 15-10. Another three-point run later in the set gave Mount Olive the separation it needed to close the set out taking it 25-16 on a UU service error.
Set two started slightly different as Urbana took the first point of the set, but Mount Olive then took the next three points. The Trojans led 6-5 and saw their lead fall after the Blue Knights spouted off a streak of five points forcing a UMO timeout. The Trojans eventually tied the set at 13, and following the Trojans holding a slim 17-16 lead, UMO pushed home four straight points to give them the momentum needed to close out the set. Once again the set win for UMO ended on an Urbana error and the Trojans won set two 25-21.
In the third set, Mount Olive used a series of runs to hold a 16-9 lead forcing an Urbana timeout. The stoppage helped give the Blue Knights a point but it did not stop the Trojans' momentum as two more three-point runs followed the one point from Urbana and the UMO lead expanded to 22-11. The match ended on a kill by Troy Magorien and a UU error and Mount Olive took the match in straight sets.
TROJAN LEADERS
The Trojans were led by Jarrod Ferguson with 12 kills in the match. Nicolas Laxar tallied 25 of the team's 28 assists. Trevor Treser led the defense with six digs.
URBANA LEADERS
The Blue Knights were led by Jack Brinkman with 14 kills. Chaz Hafer collected 23 assists and Tomas Beralas tallied six digs.
KEY MOMENT
The key moment came in the final set as the Trojans used a series of runs to jump out to a 16-to-9 lead and eventually lead by 11 in the set to cruise to a three-set win.
TUSCULUM GAME INFORMATION
Mount Olive took the momentum from the beginning on a 10-to-4 run. Following the run, the two teams exchanged points for the majority of the set until Tusculum was able to cut the lead to 21-17. The four-point deficit was as close as TU could get as the Trojans finished the set on a Pioneer service error and took the opener 25-20.
Set two did not start much better for the Pioneers as the Trojans took the first six points forcing a timeout by TU and even after the Trojans jumped out to a 9-1 lead. Mount Olive continued to increase its lead with small two-point swings as the margin grew to 21-9 before Tusculum was able to stop the momentum with two points of their own. The swing was not enough as the Trojans closed out the set 25-13 with a kill by Tyran Gillespie and a triple block Nicolas Laxar, Luke Visgitis, and Gillespie.
In the third set, the battle between the two squads was much closer at the beginning. Tusculum took the first point and even had a two-point lead at 9-7 before the game was tied at nine. Including the nine all knot, the set was tied six more times before the Trojans took control at 18-16. Following the 16 all tie, Mount Olive ended the set on a 9-to-4 run including the final kill by Eric Visgitis to take the set 25-20 and the match 3-0.
TROJAN LEADERS
The Trojans were led by Tobi Azeez with 15 kills in the match. Nicolas Laxar tallied 29 of the team's 30 assists. Trevor Treser led the defense with eight digs.
TUSCULUM LEADERS
The Pioneers were led by Shaun Kampshoff with seven kills. Lucas Blanco collected 16 assists and tallied three digs.
KEY MOMENT
The key moment came in the final set as the Trojans ended the set on a 9-to-4 run to take a 25-20 win and win the match 3-0.
Up Next
Mount Olive will open up play inside Kornegay Arena against nationally-ranked Brigham Young University January 17 at 7 p.m.