Carly White recorded a match-high 14 kills, but Mount Olive's bid for sole possession of third place in the conference standings came up short as the Trojans fell to King 25-21, 25-14, 25-16 in Conference Carolinas women's volleyball Saturday at Bristol, Tenn. Despite the loss, Mount Olive had already clinched the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament the previous night. Saturday marked the conclusion of regular season play.

Mount Olive (14-15 overall, 10-8 Conference Carolinas) finishes in a four-way tie for third place in the conference standings with Barton, Erskine and Limestone. The Trojans win the tie-breaker by virtue of a 4-2 record against the other three teams in the tie. Barton and Erskine were both 3-3, while Limestone was 2-4 and will be Mount Olive's first-round opponent as the No. 6 seed. Another tie-breaker is needed to determine seedings for Barton and Erskine.

Against King, Mount Olive rallied from a 14-8 deficit in the first set as Dezirae Mackey and Elyse Keating each served an ace and White's kill capped a 9-2 run to break a 16-16 tie. But the lead was short-lived as King (29-4, 17-1) used two Grace Underwood kills during a four-point run and the Tornado led the remainder of the set.

The Trojans fell behind by double digits early in the second set and never recover. In the third set, Sarah Robertson's kill brought Mount Olive within 10-9, but King scored seven of the next nine points to pull away.

White recorded only three errors in 22 attempts for a .500 hitting percentage. White and Lauren Lee each had two blocks, while Jordan Barnes led all players with 12 digs.

Maribeth Kern had 11 kills for King, while Underwood added 10 kills and no errors in 13 attempts.

After missing last year's conference tournament, the Trojans earned their highest seed since capturing the top seed and regular season conference title in 2005.

Match time for Saturday's quarterfinal-round contest is 2 p.m. at Kornegay Arena. The match will be followed by the Trojans' women's basketball home opener against Newberry at 5 p.m. Mount Olive and Limestone split its two regular season meetings, each winning on its home court.

Quarterfinal-round winners advance to the semifinals November 20, with the championship slated for November 23. Top remaining seeds host each round.