VIRGINIA BEACH Jan. 27) – The University of Mount Olive men's volleyball program finished with an undefeated 4-0 mark at the VWU Invitational following a pair of sweeps on Saturday, including a 3-0 win over St. Andrews and a 3-0 victory against Randolph-Macon.
With the sweep, the Trojans improve to 6-1 this season while boasting a 4-0 mark in neutral site competition. UMO will be idle for two weeks as it prepares to open league play with four straight road games.
Against St. Andrews (1-2), Mount Olive produced a season-high 10 service aces and totaled 37 kills on a .256 clip to record a 3-0 win (25-14, 25-14, 25-19) in its third match of the invitational. Sophomore
Kory Grant delivered a season-high nine kills on a .375 hitting percentage with seven digs, three aces, and two blocks. Senior
Hayden Frear contributed five kills on a .400 clip, while freshman
Matthew Ekberg finished with five kills, four service aces, and two blocks. Sophomore
Jackson Lahey guided the offense with 26 assists while adding three kills and five digs on Saturday.
Grant and senior
Tom Klotzbuecher led the defensive effort with seven digs. Additionally, senior
Chance Gallardo and sophomore
Mert Asma registered six digs against the Knights.
Against Randolph-Macon (2-3) of the Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC), the Trojans registered 43 kills on a .418 hitting percentage with six aces in a 3-0 sweep (25-21, 25-20, 25-18) in their final match in Virginia. Senior
Justin Gregory tallied 10 kills on a .300 clip with two blocks and three digs over three sets played. Frear finished with nine kills, three assists, three blocks, and five digs against the Yellow Jackets. Junior
Holden Maryott, sophomore
Constantinos Iacovou, and Grant each recorded seven kills in the win. Lahey directed the offense with 30 assists and five digs while Asma paced the defense with six digs.
Mount Olive returns to action on Friday, Feb. 9, when it opens Conference Carolinas play at defending league champion King at 7 p.m.
