Lauren Lee and Alysha Tyms-Burnett led a balanced attack with eight kills apiece as Mount Olive clinched the No. 3 seed and a conference tournament quarterfinal-round home match with a 25-17, 25-21, 25-11 victory over Lees-McRae in Conference Carolinas women's volleyball Friday at Banner Elk, N.C. Carly White added six kills and a match-high six blocks, while Lee served four of the Trojans' 10 aces.

Mount Olive's win, combined with losses Friday by Barton and Limestone, put the Trojans in sole possession of third place in the conference standings with one match remaining. Mount Olive (14-14 overall, 10-7 Conference Carolinas) is a full game ahead Barton, Limestone and Erskine, who are all at 9-8 in the conference. The Trojans will host one of those three teams in the first round, pending Saturday's results.

Mount Olive is assured of at least a share of third place in the final regular season standings and holds the tie-breaker advantage in a two-way, three-way or four-way tie if the Trojans don't win Saturday. Mount Olive split its regular season series against Erskine and Limestone, and won both matches against Barton to key the Trojans' tie-breaker advantage.

Mount Olive overcame a slow start against Lees-McRae, falling behind 6-1 in the first set. The Trojans trailed 10-5 when Tyms-Burnett had three kills in a six-point run to put Mount Olive on top for the first time. Mount Olive outscored the Bobcats 12-3 to finish the set as Tyms-Burnett had her sixth kill on set point.

Lees-McRae (2-28, 0-17) led 19-16 in the second set, but Mount Olive scored nine of the final 11 points to take a two-set lead. Dezirae Mackey and Jordan Barnes each served an ace during the set-ending run.

The third set was all Mount Olive as Lee served two aces during her seven-point service run to give the Trojans a 10-2 lead. The margin never fell below six and Mackey's ace gave Mount Olive its first double-digit lead at 18-8. The Trojans' final three points came on back-to-back aces by Lee and a kill by White on match point.

Elyse Keating finished with 27 assists and two blocks for Mount Olive, while Sarah Watkins added four blocks. Tyms-Burnett had only one error in 19 attempts for a .368 hitting percentage.

Lees-McRae was led by Avalon Liscio, who had a match-high 10 kills. Molly Corhn recorded 22 assists for the Bobcats.

Mount Olive concludes regular season play Saturday as the Trojans travel to Bristol, Tenn., to take on conference co-leader King. Match time is 2 p.m.

The eight berths and quarterfinal-round pairings in the 2013 Conference Carolinas Women's Volleyball Tournament will be determined after the conclusion of Saturday's matches. The tournament begins November 16.