FLORENCE, South Carolina - The UMO women's volleyball team dropped both of their matches on the final day of the Francis Marion University Invitational. UMO fell 3-0 to FMU and 3-1 to Wes Alabama. Mount Olive falls to 0-3 on the season heading into their first home game this coming Tuesday.
Game 1
Game Information
The Trojans had put together some good plays throughout the three sets however errors were the fatal flaw as UMO record 21 errors and only 18 kills.
Trojan Leaders
Amara Eziakonwa led the Trojans in kills with six with Alyssa Jackson close behind with five. Essi Penttinen tallied a team-high nine assists with Madison Goodman was close behind with seven. Jimnelly Del Valle again led the backline with eight digs while Goodman was on her tails with seven.
Patriots Leaders
Alyssa Hansen led the Patriots with eight kills while teammate Kayla Arthur put down seven of her own. Finn Millians led with 28 assists and Natalie Vaughn kept 12 digs in play.
Key Moment
The Patriots opened the third set on a 14-4 run that opened up a gap too later from UMO to recover from.
Game 2
Game Information
The second game of the day went better for the Trojans as they tallied 41 kills for a .138 team hitting percentage. UMO won their first set of the season but could not put together three consecutive sets to claim a win just yet.
Trojan Leaders
Starr Sergent led the UMO attack in game two with 11 kills, the first double-digit figure for and Trojan this season. Keyonna Grandy and Alyssa Jackson were close with nine and eight kills respectively.
Goodman led the assists column with 22 while Mia Dietz joined her in double figures with 14 of her own.
The Trojan backline was held down by Sergent with 11 digs, for her first career double-double, and Del Valle with 10 digs.
Tigers Leaders
The Tigers had four athletes with double-figure kill numbers in Taylor Donato (16), Bret Luther (12), Lindsey Heller (10), and Ally Craig (10).
UWA's setter, Grace Harris, tallied 46 assists, while defensive specialist Rebecca Johnson recorded 19 digs.
Key Moment
Momentum turned in UWA's direction after winning the third set holding off UMO 25-20. The Tigers carried that energy with them in the fourth set when they took an eight-point lead (17-9) late in the fourth to win the game in four sets.
Up Next
The Trojans return to action on Tuesday, Sept. 17, when they open their home schedule against the Braves of UNC Pembroke. First serve between the Trojans and Braves is set for 6 PM at Kornegay Arena in Mount Olive, NC. The first 100 fans will receive a t-shirt courtesy of Piggly Wiggly and 10 lucky contestants will have a chance to 'Serve for Pizza' sponsored by Pizza Hut.