MOUNT OLIVE (Oct. 27) – Behind a season-high 15 service aces on Friday, the Trojans returned to Kornegay Arena and posted a 3-0 sweep over Converse on Senior Night in Conference Carolinas action.

With the win, the University of Mount Olive women's volleyball program improves to 17-9 this season with an 11-2 mark in conference play. In the series, the Trojans are 8-0 at home against the Valkyries, including consecutive sweeps over the previous two years. Meanwhile, Converse falls to 7-16 overall behind a 6-6 record in league action.

Mount Olive tallied an impressive 15 aces in the match, led by senior Neza Pec and sophomore Caroline Sheaffer each registering five in the victory. Junior Ashlyn Stone delivered a game-high eight kills on a .304 hitting percentage with six digs, while fellow junior Karoline Cox finished with seven kills on a .385 clip. Senior Makenzie Holzer and sophomore Kate Carter each contributed six kills on Friday night. Senior Jenna Myer guided the offense with 16 assists and six digs, while teammate fellow senior Tarah Guntow totaled 10 assists and six digs.

Senior Morgan Prots led the defensive effort with 10 digs and recorded a pair of aces. Pec added nine digs, three kills, and two assists.

In the opening set, UMO jumped ahead by a 12-0 margin with five aces tallied by Pec and three kills from Cox. The Valkyries responded by cutting the deficit to 17-7 before the Trojans scored three of the following four points to take a comfortable 20-8 advantage. Converse countered to close the gap to 24-15 before a ball-handling error completed the set in favor of UMO, 25-15.

Mount Olive established an early 8-2 advantage with kills from four different players before the Valkyries trimmed the deficit to 11-9. The Trojans built the lead to 14-10, but the Valkyries totaled three straight points to close the gap to 14-13. UMO mounted an 8-3 run to stretch the lead to 22-16 behind four consecutive aces by Sheaffer. Converse countered with back-to-back points before Mount Olive scored three unanswered points to win the set, 25-18.

In the third set, the Trojans grabbed a 6-1 advantage, but the Valkyries responded with four consecutive points to trail by a 6-5 margin. UMO answered with five straight points to extend the lead to 11-5 before eventually holding a 16-9 advantage following a kill by Stone. Converse managed to close to gap to 19-16 late in the third, but Mount Olive scored six of the final nine points to secure the sweep, 25-19.

Mount Olive returns to Kornegay Arena tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 28, when it faces Belmont Abbey in league play at 4 p.m.