Dezirae Mackey tallied a collegiate-high 15 kills and Charnel Austin's 46 assists narrowly missed the school record for most assists in a three-set match as Mount Olive defeated Shaw 25-16, 25-22, 25-14 in the opening day of the 2011 Mount Olive College Women's Volleyball Classic Friday at Kornegay Arena. Carly White recorded 14 kills and Erika Conner added 13 kills for the Trojans, which posted a .375 hitting percentage.

In the opening match of the tournament, Belmont Abbey defeated Virginia Union 25-12, 25-14, 25-15.

Mount Olive (12-11) broke away from a 7-7 tie in the first set as kills on successive points by Mackey, Conner and Austin ignited a 10-3 run and put the Trojans ahead to stay. Mackey finished the first set with six kills, including three on the Trojans' final five points of the set.

Shaw (4-22) jumped out to a 9-5 lead in the second set as Crystal Gordon had two aces during her six-point service run. Mount Olive rallied on Nicole Sparks' ace and back-to-back kills by Conner. The Trojans built a three-point lead before a kill and block by Gordon and an ace by Cortnee Kelly rallied the Bears to a 17-17 tie.

Kills by Mackey, Conner and Destiny Ma'ave-Kuewa gave the Trojans a three-point lead, but the Bears clawed back within 21-20. Sparks served another ace and Mackey had a kill on set point to give Mount Olive a two-set lead.

In the third set, Talita Rocha broke a 3-3 tie with a kill and combined on a block with White to cap a 5-0 run as Mount Olive pulled away. Nicole Powell's kill capped a 10-2 run and gave the Trojans their biggest lead at 19-7. Shaw got within 23-14, but after combining with Conner on a block, Mackey capped the Trojans' win with a solo block on match point.

White, Mackey and Conner all finished with hitting percentages above .475. White had only one error in 18 attempts for a .722 hitting percentage, while Mackey (.571 hitting percentage and Conner (.476 hitting percentage) each had only three errors in 21 attempts.

Austin, who shared team-high honors with two aces, came within three assists of the school assists record in a three-set match. Trojan all-time assists leader Sara Christie had a 49-assist performance against Fayetteville State in 2003.

Shaye Walton led Shaw with 10 kills, while Gordon served a match-high four aces. Walton and Gordon had three blocks apiece.

In Friday's opening match, Belmont Abbey (13-12) jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the first set and was never threatened. Lydia Schellenberg served back-to-back aces to close out the set.

In the second set, Virginia Union (7-18) pulled within 9-8 after an ace by Kristal Woodard. But a pair of aces by Angela Jubb and a kill by Schellenberg highlighted a 6-0 run as Belmont Abbey pulled away. Schellenberg recorded a kill on set point to give the Crusaders a two-set lead. Belmont Abbey scored nine of the final 10 points of the match to break away from a 16-14 lead in the third set.

Tournament play wraps up Saturday with four matches:
9 a.m. Belmont Abbey vs. Shaw
11 a.m. Mount Olive vs. Virginia Union
1 p.m. Shaw vs. Virginia Union
3 p.m. Mount Olive vs. Belmont Abbey

An All-Tournament Team and Most Valuable Player will be announced at the conclusion of the tournament.