MOUNT OLIVE (Oct. 30) – The Trojans totaled 44 kills on a season-high .479 hitting percentage in a 3-0 sweep over Barton to clinch at least a share of the Conference Carolinas East Division title on Wednesday night at Kornegay Arena.
With the win, the University of Mount Olive women's volleyball program improves to 16-7 overall with a 12-2 record in conference action. The Trojans hold a perfect 7-0 mark in divisional play and remain the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament with four matches left in the regular season. Meanwhile, Barton drops to 6-14 this year behind a 3-9 mark in league play.
Senior
Callie Mullins registered a game-high 11 kills on an impressive .625 hitting percentage while tallying one block and three digs. Freshman
Olivia Melvin totaled nine kills on a staggering .727 clip and senior
Ashlyn Stone finished with eight kills on a .467 hitting percentage, adding three aces, one block, and three digs. Sophomore
Lyndsay Reid delivered a career-high eight service aces while guiding the offense with 24 assists and three digs. Junior
Breanna Tanton produced 13 assists and two digs in the win.
Freshman
Kacey Gore led the defense with nine digs and sophomore
Danielle Parker controlled the net with two blocks. As a team, UMO tied a season-best with 14 aces, the 13th time the squad hit double-digit aces this year.
In the first set, the Trojans totaled 15 kills on a .571 clip with seven service aces. Mount Olive held a 6-5 edge before mounting a 9-1 run behind a pair of aces from Stone to build a 15-6 advantage. The sides exchanged points down the stretch, but UMO recorded five unanswered points to seal the 25-12 win.
Mount Olive quickly established an 8-5 lead in the second set before scoring five of the following six points to extend the advantage to 13-6. The Bulldogs responded by tallying consecutive points, but the Trojans scored eight straight points with three aces from Reid to take a significant 21-8 lead. UMO finished the set strong, eventually winning by a 25-11 margin off an attacking error by Barton.
The Bulldogs took an early 4-3 edge in the third set before Mount Olive scored six straight points to take a 9-4 lead. Barton closed the gap to 10-7, but the Trojans totaled eight of the next 11 points to maintain an 18-10 advantage. With UMO ahead by a 21-15 margin, Mount Olive registered a 4-1 run with Melvin securing the victory on a kill, 25-16.
The Trojans continue Conference Carolinas play on Saturday, Nov. 2, when they travel to face Young Harris at 1 p.m.
