ATLANTA, Ga. (Jan. 27) – The Trojans set a new school record with 21 service aces on Friday night in a 3-0 sweep over Morehouse in non-conference action.  

With the win, the University of Mount Olive men's volleyball team improves to 3-1 this season after returning to the court for the first time in a week. It marked the first meeting between the sides, as Morehouse enters its second season as a program. Meanwhile, the Maroon Tigers fall to 0-1 in their season-opener while competing in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC).

Mount Olive set the new school record with 21 service aces in the win after 10 different players registered at least one ace. The previous mark was 20 aces set on March 10, 2012, against Wells College. Junior Tom Klotzbuecher and sophomore Holden Maryott led the team with four and three aces, respectively, while six players tallied two aces on Friday.

Junior Chance Gallardo paced the team with seven kills on a .400 hitting percentage with four digs. Maryott finished right behind with six kills on a .500 clip while freshman Kory Grant also tallied six kills and four digs in the win. Klotzbuecher recorded five kills and two digs in a pair of sets, and freshman Constantinos Iacovou delivered four kills on a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage. Junior Jack Yerxa directed the offense with 22 assists and freshman Jackson Lahey added six assists.

The Trojans established an early 1-0 advantage after tallying 11 kills on a .625 clip with eight aces to win the first set, 25-9. UMO produced an 8-3 lead following kills from three different players before scoring six of the next seven points to stretch the advantage to 14-4. Both sides exchanged the next four points before the Trojans mounted a 9-3 run behind four service aces to win the opening set, 25-9.

In the second set, the Maroon Tigers took an early 7-6 lead after capitalizing on three service errors before UMO countered with a 5-1 rally to claim an 11-8 advantage. Morehouse scored four of the following five points to tie the match at 12-12, but Mount Olive responded with a massive 10-2 run with four aces to take a comfortable 22-14 lead. The Maroon Tigers battled back with three consecutive points before UMO finished with three unanswered to win by a 25-17 margin.

Mount Olive completed the 3-0 sweep in the third set after posting 16 kills on a .700 hitting percentage. The Trojans held a slight 7-5 advantage to open the set before delivering four-straight points to take an 11-5 lead. Both teams exchanged the following seven points before a 5-1 run from UMO stretched the advantage to 23-10 with a pair of kills from Klotzbuecher and Grant. Mount Olive eventually closed out the match with a kill by Iacovou to win, 25-12.

Mount Olive returns to the court tomorrow, Jan. 28, when it travels to face Fort Valley State in non-conference play at 5 p.m.