Mount Olive surpassed the 20-point mark in all three sets, but the third-seeded Trojans were denied their third consecutive conference championship, falling to No. 1 seed Pfeiffer 25-23, 25-23, 25-21 in the championship match of the 2012 Conference Carolinas Men's Volleyball Tournament. Dan Arnold and Jackson Metichecchia represented the Trojans on the All-Tournament Team.

Pfeiffer's Caleb Brophy was named Most Valuable Player.

Adam Miracle had four kills early in the first set to help Mount Olive (17-14) take an 11-8 lead. Pfeiffer used a pair of kills by Caleb Brophy and a block by Lance Johnson to fuel a 7-2 run to take a 15-13 lead.

Pfeiffer's lead never grew to more than two points and Mount Olive forged a 23-23 tie after kills on consecutive points by Lukas Hoelzl and Jack Tutty. But Trojan errors on the next two points gave Pfeiffer (21-6) the opening set.

Mount Olive trailed by as many as five points in the second set after Trojan errors on three straight points gave Pfeiffer a 15-10 lead. The Trojans got as close as two points after a kill by Miracle, but Brophy's kill gave the Falcons a 20-16 advantage.

After a Mount Olive timeout, back-to-back kills by Metichecchia and John Nunns ignited a run as the Trojans tied the set 21-21. Brophy put Pfeiffer back on top with a kill and an ace on successive points. After the two teams traded service errors, Tutty saved a set point with a kill. But David Specian's kill gave the Falcons a two-set lead.

In the third set, Mount Olive took a 12-10 lead after block assists by John Nunns sandwiched around a kill by Miracle, who assisted on the first block. The Trojans were unable to extend the lead beyond two points and Pfeiffer rallied to take the lead for good at 16-15.

After Miracle's kill pulled Mount Olive within 20-19, Pfeiffer built the lead to three on a kill and a block by Johnson. The Trojans capitalized on Falcon errors to make it a one-point set again at 22-21. But Mount Olive would not score another point.

Pfeiffer got a side out on Quentin Moore's kill and Konstantine Weiss recorded blocks on the final two points to give the Falcons their first conference title.

Miracle led the Trojans with 12 kills, while Hoelzl added nine kills. Metichecchia recorded 25 assists, Arnold had seven digs and Nunns finished with three blocks.

Brophy had a match-high 17 kills for Pfeiffer, while Moore finished with 11 kills and Specian had 42 assists. Moore and Specian joined Brophy on the All-Tournament Team.

Mount Olive won Conference Carolinas regular season and tournament championships in 2010 and 2011, the first two years the conference sponsored men's volleyball. The Trojans defeated No. 2 seed Limestone on the road Sunday in the first round of the tournament to advance to Wednesday's championship match.

Mount Olive finished the season with 13 wins in its final 16 matches.