NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (Nov. 18) – After overcoming a 2-0 deficit in the match, the University of Mount Olive women's volleyball team suffered a 3-2 loss against UNC Pembroke on Saturday evening in the semifinals of the Conference Carolinas Championship.

With the loss, the Trojans finished the season with a 20-11 overall mark after advancing to the semifinals of the league tournament for a consecutive season. Under the leadership of head coach Emma Celentano, UMO has claimed back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 2004-05 while featuring a trio of all-conference recipients. Meanwhile, the Brave improve to 21-13 this year and will face Emmanuel in the championship final, a rematch from 2022.

Junior Ashlyn Stone had an impressive performance on Saturday after leading the team with 16 kills on a .349 hitting percentage with one block and four digs. She closes the year with a team-leading 334 kills in 31 matches this season. Freshman Kaitlyn Landis delivered a career-high 15 kills and five blocks while adding five digs against the Braves. Junior Karoline Cox tallied eight kills on a .350 clip with two blocks and four digs. Freshman Lyndsay Reid directed the offense with 22 assists and eight digs, while senior Jenna Myer recorded her third assist/dig double-double of the season with 21 assists and 11 digs.

Senior libero Morgan Prots led the defensive effort with a season-high 32 digs and seven assists. She finishes her career with the Trojans as the all-time digs leader in program history with 1,786 career digs. Senior Neza Pec also reached double-figures with 12 digs while adding five kills. Sophomore Caroline Sheaffer finished with six digs and three aces while teammate Kate Carter controlled the net with seven blocks.

Mount Olive quickly established a 5-1 advantage in the first set before an 11-2 rally put the Braves ahead by a 12-7 margin. An attack error halted the run, but UNCP continued to build the lead with five unanswered kills, 17-8. The Trojans scored eight of the following nine points with a pair of kills by Pec to cut the deficit to 18-16. UMO managed to close the gap to 23-20 before UNCP scored two of the final three points to win the set, 25-21.

UNC Pembroke jumped ahead by an 8-3 margin in the second set, but the Trojans responded with seven straight points to take the lead 10-8. Both teams exchanged points late into the set before eight consecutive points by UNCP flipped the score to 22-16. Pec delivered a kill on the next play, but the Braves finished the second set with three straight points, 25-17.

UNCP held an early 11-8 advantage in the third set before the Trojans scored six of the next seven points with a pair of kills by Stone to take a 14-12 lead. The Braves countered with back-to-back kills to tie the contest at 14-14, but UMO mounted a 9-2 rally with three kills by Landis to hold a 23-16 advantage. The Braves closed the gap to 24-19 before Stone recorded a kill to extend the match, 25-19.

In the fourth set, UNC Pembroke built an 11-6 advantage before the sides traded the next eight points. Mount Olive countered with a 13-3 rally with a trio of kills by Landis to take a 23-18 advantage. The Braves cut the deficit to 24-21 before Stone registered a kill to win the fourth set, 25-21.

UNC Pembroke held an early 7-4 lead before UMO responded with three of the following four points to trail by an 8-7 margin. The teams exchanged the next eight points before an attack error put UNCP ahead 13-11. Mount Olive tallied consecutive points to tie the contest at 13-13, but UNCP sealed the win with a kill and ace to advance, 15-13.