University of Mount Olive's rally came up short as the Trojans fell to Barton College 25-18, 25-23, 23-25, 25-16 in Conference Carolinas women's volleyball Tuesday at Wilson, N.C. Britni Johnson and Montgomery Register led the Trojans with 10 kills apiece.
Mount Olive (4-11 overall, 1-4 Conference Carolinas) dropped the first set and trailed 18-13 in the second set before mounting a comeback. Register and Sarah Watkins each recorded a kill and combined on a block as the Trojans rallied to tie the set 23-23. But Barton scored the final two points to take a two-set lead.
The Trojans trailed 16-13 before Ellen Morgan's ace capped a three-point run to tie the set. After the two teams exchanged a pair of side outs, Marissa Turnage served for a pair of points and turned a dig into a kill as Mount Olive led 22-19. The Trojans built the lead to 24-20 and after Barton saved three set points, Johnson's kill from the right side forced a fourth set.
Barton (5-9, 3-2) jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the fourth set and Mount Olive never got any closer than two points the rest of the way.
Register tallied a match-high seven blocks, while Johnson and Morgan added four blocks apiece. Johnson notched a double-double with 11 digs and Turnage also recorded 11 digs. Casey Fiechter led all players with 19 digs. Samantha Winfield (18 assists) and Aubrey McKinney (17 assists) combined for 35 assists.
Shae Schmidt led all players with 14 kills for Barton.
Mount Olive takes to the road again this weekend for a pair of Conference Carolinas matches. The Trojans travel to Spartanburg, S.C., Friday for a 7 p.m. match-up against Converse, then head to Gaffney, S.C., Saturday afternoon to take on Limestone. Match time is 2 p.m.