Mount Olive fell to Mars Hill 25-20, 25-18, 25-21 Friday morning as the Trojans opened their 2013 season in the Francis Marion University Women's Volleyball Tournament at Florence, S.C. Lauren Lee led Mount Olive with eight kills, while Carly White recorded a match-high five blocks.

Mount Olive resumes tournament action with two matches today. The Trojans battle host Francis Marion at 3 p.m. and conclude tournament play with a 7 p.m. match-up against Newberry. Live Stats are available for the match against Francis Marion.

Mount Olive scored the first two points of the match on a block by Lee and White, and an ace by freshman setter Elyse Keating. The Trojans held a 12-10 lead in the first set after a block by White and Sarah Watkins.

Mars Hill (1-0) used a 3-0 run to break a 16-16 tie and take the lead for good. Kills by Lee and White helped pull Mount Olive within 20-19, but Mars Hill scored five of the final six points to take the opening set.

Mars Hill used an eight-point run to take a 12-3 lead in the second set and Mount Olive never recovered. The margin grew to as many as 12 points before the Trojans made a late rally.

Mount Olive rallied from an early three-point deficit in the third set as kills by Keating and Watkins and a solo block by White gave the Trojans a 14-13 lead. But Mars Hill answered with a 5-1 run and the Lions led the rest of the way.

Playing in her first collegiate match, Keating finished with 23 assists and served two of the Trojans' five aces. Charnel Austin recorded 10 digs, while Lee and Watkins added nine digs apiece.

Marissa Wixson led Mars Hill with 14 kills and two aces, while Toni Cole added 12 kills. Maggie Murphy had a match-high 12 digs for the Lions.

Mount Olive fell to USC Aiken 25-23, 25-14, 25-8 in its second match of the day. Lee again led the Trojans with eight kills, while Nicole Karas recorded a career-high 17 digs. The Trojans had 16 of their 25 kills in the opening set.