Mount Olive was on the wrong end of scoring runs as the Trojans fell to Mars Hill 25-21, 25-17, 25-18 in day two of the Francis Marion Women's Volleyball Invitational Saturday at Florence, S.C. Dezirae Mackey recorded eight kills with only one error in 16 attempts for a .438 hitting percentage.

The Trojans concluded tournament play with a 25-22, 25-20, 25-12 loss to tournament host Francis Marion. Carly White tallied 14 kills with no errors in 23 attempts for a .609 hitting percentage for Mount Olive. The Trojans battled back from deficits in the first two sets before a game-breaking scoring run in the third set broke an 8-8 tie and sealed the win for Francis Marion.

In the opening match, the two teams exchanged scoring runs as Mars Hill scored seven unanswered points to take a 16-12 lead. Toni Cole served back-to-back aces for the Lions during the run.

Sarah Robertson came off the bench and ignited a 5-0 Trojan run with an ace and a pair of digs. Lauren Lee and Dezirae Mackey contributed two kills apiece in the run as Mount Olive went back on top 17-16. Mars Hill took the lead for good as Marissa Wixom recorded kills on five consecutive points for the Lions.

In the second set, Mount Olive rallied from a four-point deficit as Nicole Karas' ace and kills by Danielle Plante and Carly White pulled the Trojans within 12-11. But Mars Hill broke the game open with eight straight points, three coming on aces by Hillary Gambrell.

Mars Hill built a late nine-point lead in the third set before Mackey sparked a Trojan rally. Mackey had a pair of kills, while Ashlee Reuter served an ace during a 6-1 run to pull the Trojans within 21-17. Mars Hill scored the next three points to halt Mount Olive's comeback as the Lions went on to seal the win.

Mackey recorded eight kills with only one error in 16 attempts for a .438 hitting percentage. White added seven kills, while Karas recorded 29 assists. Nicole Sparks led all players with 14 digs for the Trojans. Robertson served two of Mount Olive's five aces and added six digs.

Wixom led all players with 17 kills for Mars Hill. Cole and Gambrell served four aces apiece.

Against Francis Marion, Mount Olive trailed throughout most of the first set and faced its biggest deficit at 21-15 before rallying to tie the set. Kills by Mackey and White ended a Francis Marion scoring run and White combined with Reuter on a block as the Trojans evened the set at 22-22. Francis Marion then rebounded to score the final three points to take the set.

In the second set, Francis Marion scored six unanswered points to break a 5-5 tie. Megan Mooney had a pair of kills during the run for the Patriots. Mount Olive chipped away at the margin as White had a pair of kills and teamed with Reuter for another block. A kill by Mackey and a pair of Patriot errors helped draw the Trojans within 18-17. But Mount Olive was unable to tie the set and Francis Marion scored seven of the final 10 points to take a two-set lead.

The third set saw six ties and six lead changes as the two teams split the first 16 points. White accounted for Mount Olive's first four points of the set with three kills and a block with Lauren Lee. Kills by Lee and Mackey gave the Trojans an 8-7 lead, but Francis Marion put the game away with 11 unanswered points. Mooney had three blocks for the Patriots during the run and combined with Liz Drewry for five kills. White had a pair of late kills for Mount Olive, but Paige Perreault's service run was too much to overcome.

Lee and Mackey finished with seven kills apiece, while White shared match-high honors with four blocks and Reuter added three blocks. Nicole Karas narrowly missed her second double-double of the tournament with 26 assists and eight digs. Lee led the Trojans with nine digs.

Devry had a match-high 16 kills for Francis Marion, while Mooney added 11 kills and four blocks.

Mount Olive is off until next weekend when the Trojans play host to the Mount Olive College Invitational Friday and Saturday at Kornegay Arena. Participating teams are Millersville (Pa.), UNC Pembroke, Saint Augustine's and Virginia State.