Mount Olive rallied to force a fifth set and battled back from a six-point deficit to pull within a point, but the rally came up short as the Trojans fell to Belmont Abbey 25-23, 18-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-12 in the final match of the 2011 Mount Olive College Women's Volleyball Classic Saturday at Kornegay Arena. Lauren Lee and Dezirae Mackey represented the Trojans on the All-Tournament Team.
Mount Olive finished with a 2-1 record in the tournament as the Trojans overcame a first-set loss for a 23-25, 25-11, 25-19, 25-8 victory over Virginia Union earlier Saturday. Carly White led all players with 18 kills and Erika Conner notched a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs.
Mount Olive resumes Conference Carolinas play Tuesday as the Trojans travel to Charlotte, N.C., to take on Queens. Mount Olive fell to the Royals in five sets September 23 at Kornegay Arena in a match that saw the Trojans rally from a two-set deficit. Match time is 7 p.m.
Angela Jubb of Belmont Abbey was named Most Valuable Player of the Mount Olive College Classic and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by teammate Stefanie Holler. Kristin Madison of Virginia Union and Shaye Walton of Shaw were also named to the All-Tournament Team.
Belmont Abbey defeated Shaw 25-7, 25-12, 23-25, 25-19 in Saturday's first match. Juliane Pisano served seven of Belmont Abbey's 18 aces. Virginia Union outlasted Shaw 25-17, 25-14, 25-27, 25-18 in Saturday's third match. Aisha Berkley had 16 kills, while Kristin Madison added 12 kills and five aces.
Belmont Abbey 3, Mount Olive 2
Carly White recorded a tournament-high 22 kills and Mount Olive (13-12) compiled a .306 team hitting percentage, but the Trojans were unable to overcome a fifth-set deficit. Erika Conner recorded her second double-double of the day with 14 kills and 14 digs. Sarah Robertson, who notched her first collegiate double-figure performance in Saturday's first match, tallied a career-high 14 kills.
Angela Jubb led Belmont Abbey with 18 kills, while Lydia Schellenberg added 15 kills for the Crusaders.
After dropping two of the first three sets, Mount Olive came back in the fourth set as Charnel Austin's ace broke a 17-17 tie and the Trojans never trailed again. White, Robertson and Conner combined for four kills in the Trojans final six points of the set.
Belmont Abbey (15-12) jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the fifth set as Bria James served three of her match-high four aces during six-point service run. Nicole Powell served an ace, while Mackey recorded a pair of kills and combined with Robertson for a block to pull Mount Olive within 13-12. But Belmont Abbey capitalized on Trojan errors on the final two points to seal the win.
Austin finished with career highs of 59 assists and 14 digs for Mount Olive, while Lauren Lee also had 14 digs. Austin also served a team-high three aces. White recorded only two errors in 34 attempts (.588 hitting percentage) and finished with a .573 hitting percentage for the tournament.
Kay Schellenberg recorded 49 assists for Belmont Abbey and shared team high honors with Jubb with three blocks. The match did not count as a Conference Carolinas match.
Mount Olive 3, Virginia Union 1
Carly White led three Trojans in double figures with 18 kills, while Erika Conner had 12 kills and Sarah Robertson added 11. Conner also had a team-high 11 digs.
Mount Olive rebounded from a first-set loss by jumping out to a 20-9 lead in the second set. The Trojans led 19-9 in the third set as a pair of aces by Conner highlighted a 12-1 scoring run. Kills by Kristin Madison and Aisha Berkley helped Virginia Union pull within 22-18, but kills by Conner and Dezirae Mackey helped Mount Olive pull out the set.
The fourth set was all Mount Olive as Nicole Sparks and White each served a pair of aces to give the Trojans a quick double-digit advantage.
Conner, Sparks and White served four aces apiece as Mount Olive matched a season high with 14 aces as a team. Charnel Austin recorded 48 assists.
Madison had a team-high eight kills and only one error in 17 attempts for Virginia Union. Brittanee Adams recorded a match-high 14 digs for the Panthers.
Virginia Union 3, Shaw 1
Aisha Berkley led all players with 16 kills to help Virginia Union claim its first win of the tournament. Kristin Madison added 12 kills and Kristal Woodard added 11 kills for the Panthers.
Virginia Union (8-19) won the first two sets decisively before Shaw (4-24) rallied for a third-set win. The Bears overcame a 20-17 deficit after back-to-back kills by Crystal Gordon capped a 4-0 run. After Shaw saved one match point, Gordon's kill broke a 25-25 tie and a Panther attack error extended the match to a fourth set.
Shaw trailed by as many as six points in the fourth set before Shaye Walton's kill pulled the Bears within 18-17. But Virginia Union outscored Shaw 6-1 to end the match as Ellie Parsons served an ace on match point.
Demi Schrader recorded 46 assists for Virginia Union, while Parsons had 12 digs and Woodard added four blocks. Madison powered the Panthers' 15-ace attack with five aces.
Gordon finished with 14 kills, while Walton added 12 kills. Jolene Arroyo and Michelle Oliver finished with 10 digs apiece and Cortnee Kelly had 23 assists.
Belmont Abbey 3, Shaw 1
Julianne Pisano served a tournament-high seven aces and Belmont Abbey finished with 18 aces as a team in its win against Shaw.
Remick Tiller recorded three aces during a 10-0 run in the first set as Belmont Abbey was never threatened. The Crusaders used a 10-1 run to break away from an 8-7 lead in the second set.
The third set was a different story as Cortnee Kelly's ace capped her six-point service run and helped give Shaw a 20-12 lead. Belmont Abbey rallied to tie the set 23-23, but Shaye Walton recorded kills on the final two points to keep the Bears in the match.
Belmont Abbey built a 15-9 lead in the fourth set after Stefanie Holler's kill and Shaw never got any closer than two points.
Jaime O'Connell led a balanced Belmont Abbey attack with 11 kills as 12 Crusader players registered at least one kill. Tiller and Molly Gwaltney served three aces apiece.
Crystal Gordon led all players with 15 kills for Shaw, while Walton tallied a double-double with 13 kills and 13 assists.
