Mount Olive jumped out to leads of five or more points in each of the first two sets, but tournament champion Lander rallied for a 25-16, 25-20, 25-18 win over the Trojans in the final match of the Mount Olive College Women's Volleyball Invitational Saturday at Kornegay Arena. Setter Destiny Ma'ave-Kuewa represented Mount Olive on the All-Tournament Team. Lander setter Jessica Register was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
Mount Olive, which won both of its matches Friday, opened Saturday's morning session with a 25-15, 25-18, 25-16 loss to first-year Conference Carolinas member North Greenville as the Trojans posted a 2-2 record in the tournament. The match does not count in the conference standings.
Lander, which also won its two matches Friday, rallied from an 18-14 deficit in the final set for a 25-16, 25-12, 25-22 win over Elizabeth City State in the first match of the afternoon session. Register finished with 30 assists for the Bearcats, while Magi Nottingham had nine kills and Madison Kubal recorded 14 digs. Nottingham and Kubal joined Register on the All-Tournament Team.
North Greenville finished tournament play with three straight wins after opening the tournament with a loss to Lander. The Crusaders defeated Fayetteville State 25-21, 25-18, 21-25, 25-17. Fayetteville State fell to Elizabeth City State 25-18, 29-27, 22-25, 25-23 in Saturday's morning session.
Mount Olive (3-4) led 7-1 in the first set and 6-1 in the second set, but Lander rallied both times. Lauren Lee's service ace and kills by four different players helped the Trojans get off to a fast start in the first set before a pair of kills by Nottingham triggered Lander's rally. Mount Olive held a 12-9 lead after Dezirae Mackey's kill, but Lander scored eight of the next nine points to go ahead to stay.
A block and kill each by Erika Conner and Ashlee Reuter led to another quick Trojan start in the second set, but the Bearcats again clawed their way back, breaking a 16-16 tie to take the lead for good. Lander jumped out to a 7-1 start in the third set and Mount Olive never got any closer than three points the remainder of the set.
Conner finished with eight kills for the Trojans, while Ma'ave-Kuewa added 23 assists. Mallory Wasik paced Lander with 11 kills, while Register finished with 32 assists and Kubal had 14 digs.
Against North Greenville, Mount Olive rallied from an 8-5 deficit in the first set as back-to-back kills by Carly White capped a 3-0 run to tie the set. But three consecutive Trojan attack errors allowed the Crusaders to break away from a 9-9 tie and take the lead for good.
The Trojans tied the second set 14-14 on Ma'ave-Kuewa's ace, but Rebekah Mayes' kill broke the tie and North Greenville led the rest of the way. Kaitlyn Pierce and Abigail Frame combined on a block on set point as the Crusaders ended the set on a 6-2 run.
North Greenville jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the third set and Mount Olive never got any closer than three points the rest of the way.
White led Mount Olive with nine kills and two blocks, while Erika Conner added eight kills and eight digs. Ma'ave-Kuewa recorded 21 assists. As a team, the Trojans finished with 26 kills and 27 errors in 84 attempts.
Kendra Meek tallied a match-high 12 kills for North Greenville, while Pierce finished with 10 kills and Mayes added nine kills. Frame recorded 32 assists and Kaitlyn Harris had 13 digs.
In North Greenville's win over Elizabeth City State, Pierce had 16 kills, Harris recorded 22 digs and Frame tallied 49 assists, the highest individual single-match assists total of the tournament. Frame and Pierce were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Oasis Ellison of Elizabeth City State and Joi Emmanuel of Fayetteville State also earned All-Tournament honors.
Mount Olive returns to action Tuesday as the Trojans open Conference Carolinas play at home against St. Andrews, which reinstated women's volleyball after a one-year absence. Match time is 7 p.m. at Kornegay Arena.
All-Tournament Team
MVP: Jessica Register, Lander
Oasis Ellison, Elizabeth City State
Joi Emmanuel, Fayetteville State
Abigail Frame, North Greenville
Madison Kubal, Lander
Destiny Ma'ave-Kuewa, Mount Olive
Magi Nottingham, Lander
Kaitlyn Pierce, North Greenville
