BRISTOL, Tenn. (Sept. 29) – Freshman Kaitlyn Landis and junior Ashlyn Stone combined for 21 kills, as the University of Mount Olive women's volleyball program earned a 3-1 win at King on Friday night in Conference Carolinas action.

With the win, the Trojans collect their fifth straight win to improve to 10-5 overall behind a 4-0 mark in conference play. Mount Olive claims its third consecutive victory over King and is one of three teams still undefeated in Conference Carolinas action. Meanwhile, the Tornado drop to 3-7 this season with a 1-2 record in league play.

Landis led all players with 11 kills on an impressive .429 hitting percentage while Stone reached double-figures with 10 kills. Junior Callie Mullins had a balanced performance with eight kills and seven digs against King. Senior Jenna Myers directed the offense with 19 assists, three service aces, and seven digs, while freshman Lyndsay Reid totaled 19 assists, three aces, and five digs.

Senior Morgan Prots led the defensive effort with 19 digs and five assists. Fellow senior Neza Pec registered double-digit digs with seven kills on a .375 clip. Mount Olive produced 12 aces in the win, the ninth time reaching double figures in a match.

In the opening set, the Trojans established an early 6-3 advantage behind kills from four different players before King closed the gap to tie the contest, 6-6. Mount Olive responded with four straight points to hold a 10-6 lead, but the Tornado rallied again to tie the match at 10-10. The game remained close through the midway point of the set before King mounted a 6-1 run to take a 21-16 advantage. The Trojans answered with back-to-back kills from Landis, but the Tornado scored four of the final six points to win the set, 25-20.

Mount Olive raced out to an early 12-6 lead in the second set following a kill by Pec. King answered back by scoring five of the next seven points to trim the deficit to 14-11. The Trojans countered with a short 3-1 run to extend the advantage to 17-12, but the Tornado rallied to close the gap to 18-16. UMO gained momentum late in the set by tallying seven of the final 10 points, including a pair of kills by junior Karoline Cox, to take the set, 25-19.

The Trojans managed to build another early lead in the third set by a 7-4 margin before King trimmed the deficit to 8-7. UMO responded with consecutive kills and an ace, but the Tornado rallied with a 5-3 run to tie the match, 12-12. Mount Olive regained the advantage by scoring six of the following eight points, including a pair of aces, to take an 18-14 lead. Following a timeout, King cut the deficit to 20-18 before the Trojans tallied five unanswered points with back-to-back aces by Myer to win the set, 25-18.

The Tornado established a 7-5 advantage to begin the fourth set before UMO claimed the lead behind six straight points, 11-7. Both sides exchanged the next five points before the Trojans mounted a 7-1 run to take a significant 20-11 lead. King rallied back with four unanswered points to close the gap to 20-15, but Mount Olive finished the set by scoring five of the final seven points, 25-17.

The Trojans return to action tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 30, to face Lees-McRae in league play on the road at 1 p.m.