PROVO, Utah- The University of Mount Olive men's volleyball team fell to the No. 8 Cougars of Brigham Young University 3-1. This loss take the Trojans to 2-2 overall.
GAME INFORMATION
The Trojans of Mount Olive had a much slower start in the first set then they did on Thursday, as they dropped three quick points to the Cougars and only responded with one. After trialing early, Mount Olive was finally able to find their footing, evening the score at 12 with both teams trading serving errors. Both sides had their offenses clicking as the score stayed in a tie all the way to 24s; but the Cougars offense was too much for the Trojans as they were able to connect on back to back kills to take the first set 26-24.
The second set started with UMO coming out firing as Tobi Azeez and Luke Visgitis led the way offensively. BYU stayed patient and resilient as they were able to bring the score to a two-point margin after a four-point run midway through the set. The score would stay close as the two teams fought to extra points once more. Brigham Young was not be denied however, as they took the second set 27-25.
Wanting to avoid the sweep, Mount Olive came out to the third set more determined then ever with Jarrod Ferguson going to Azeez to convert three blistering kills to push the Trojans lead to 10-6. UMO continued their offense explosion with both Visgitis twins and sophomore Dominic Hagerty helping push the lead further away from the Cougars. A Mount Olive monster block would help seal a third set victory 25-19.
Even with the Trojans starting out to a 2-0 lead in the 4th set, BYU did not want to risk going to a fifth deciding set once again. A combination of Cougar kills and blocks resulted in a eight-point lead, 18-10. Mount Olive made a late game push to make the set closer at 23-19, after a four-point run. Brigham Young held off the Trojan attack and defeated UMO 25-20 in the 4th set.
Mount Olive Leaders
The Trojans were led by Tobi Azeez with 19 kills. Jarrod Ferguson added 43 assists. Luke Visgitis with 7 total blocks
Cougars Leaders
The Cougars were led by Miks Ramanis with 22 kills.
Up Next
The Trojans will head to Columbus, OH to take on #9 Ohio State in back to back days; Feb 4th and Feb 5th.
