MOUNT OLIVE (Sept. 6) – After featuring a balanced offensive attack, the Trojans captured a 3-0 sweep over Shaw on Tuesday night in non-conference play at Kornegay Arena.
 
With the victory, the University of Mount Olive women's volleyball team improves to 4-5 on the season after playing their first home match of the year. Meanwhile, the Lady Bears fall to 2-6 overall and drop their six-straight match after opening the 2022 campaign with consecutive wins.
 
Senior Amara Eziakonwa led the team with a game-high 10 kills on an astounding .643 hitting percentage and has now totaled double-digit kills in seven matches this season. She currently leads the conference with a .405 clip and ranks second with 103 kills. Sophomore Ashlyn Stone finished with eight kills on a .667 hitting percentage, while teammate Neza Pec added six kills against Shaw. Seniors Madison Goodman and Jenna Myer guided the offense with 17 and 13 assists, respectively.
 
Sophomore Morgan Prots and freshman Sam Widelski both registered 11 digs in the match, while Pec posted seven digs in the win. Prots leads the league with 5.18 digs per set and has totaled double-digit digs in every game this year. Mount Olive matched its season-high with nine blocks and were led by senior Alyssa Jackson, who recorded a career-high eight blocks. Senior Camryn Huber and Pec tallied four and three blocks, respectively, on Tuesday night.
 
The Trojans registered a .300 hitting percentage in the first set to claim a 25-18 victory. Shaw opened up the set with back-to-back kills before UMO responded with six-straight points, led by Eziakonwa with a pair kills, 6-2. The Lady Bears scored seven of the next 10 points to tie the match at 9-9 before taking a 13-11 lead midway through the set. The Trojans answered with four-consecutive points to retake the lead 15-13 before both team traded the next eight points, 19-17. UMO would close out the set with a 6-1 run with three attacking errors from Shaw.
 
Mount Olive earned a 25-21 win in the second set behind 13 kills. The Trojans jumped out to a 7-2 advantage with kills from four different players. After exchanging the next seven points, UMO went a 5-0 run to take a commanding 15-5 lead. The Lady Bears responded with an 11-3 run to trim the deficit to 18-13 before Mount Olive tallied four of the next five points, 22-17. Shaw managed to close the gap to 23-21 before an attacking error and a kill from Huber end the second set, 25-21
 
The Trojans finished off the sweep in the third set by a 25-22 margin after four ties and two lead changes. UMO once again raced out to an 8-3 lead before a run by the Lady Bears tied the match at 11-11. Shaw would claim a 14-12 advantage before Mount Olive answered with five-straight points. The Lady Bears worked the deficit down to 18-17 before the Trojans went on a 4-1 run to grab a 22-18 lead. After Shaw tied the match at 22-22, UMO secured the match victory with three-straight points, including the game-winning block by Jackson and Huber.
 
UMO returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 10, when it travels for a pair of matches in Richmond, Virginia, against Goldey-Beacom and Virginia Union, starting at 1 p.m.