BELMONT, N.C. (Nov. 9) – For the first time since 2003-05, the Trojans eclipsed 20 wins for a third-straight year following a 3-0 sweep at Belmont Abbey on Saturday afternoon in the Conference Carolinas regular-season finale.
With the win, the University of Mount Olive women's volleyball team improves to 20-7 overall behind a 16-2 mark in league action. Since Oct. 1, the Trojans have posted an impressive 15-1 record behind a perfect 14-0 mark in Conference Carolinas play. The regular season will conclude on Wednesday, Nov. 13, as Mount Olive awaits the final seeding for the league tournament. Meanwhile, Belmont Abbey drops to 7-19 this season with a 5-12 record in conference action.
Senior
Ashlyn Stone registered a game-high 10 kills, adding three assists, two aces, one block, and eight digs. Fellow senior
Callie Mullins finished with nine kills on a .333 hitting percentage and totaled two blocks over three sets played. Senior
Kate Carter recorded six kills on a .357 clip with one service ace, one block, and four digs. Sophomore
Kaitlyn Landis tallied five kills and three blocks against the Crusaders. Sophomore
Lyndsay Reid directed the offense with 16 assists, eight digs, and two aces. Junior
Breanna Tanton produced 12 assists and six digs in the Saturday sweep.
Junior
Caroline Sheaffer led the defense with 15 digs while adding three assists, and three service aces. Sophomore
Danielle Parker controlled the net with a career-high five blocks.
After the sides exchanged points to begin the first set, UMO mounted a 9-2 run behind two kills from Landis to take a 12-5 advantage. The Crusaders answered with back-to-back points before Mount Olive scored four straight to stretch the lead to 16-7. With the Trojans ahead by a 20-15 margin, UMO totaled five unanswered points after capitalizing on three attacking errors to claim the set, 25-15.
Mount Olive managed to establish a 7-4 advantage to start the second set before Belmont Abbey responded with three consecutive points to tie the match, 7-7. The Trojans extended the lead to 13-8 following a 6-1 run, but the Crusaders rallied to close the gap to 20-17. UMO closed the set by scoring five of the final eight points with kills from four different players, 25-20.
The third set featured six ties in the opening portion as Mount Olive held a slight 15-14 edge. Both sides exchanged 3-0 runs before the Trojans tallied seven of the last eight points to capture the sweep on the road, 25-18.
Mount Olive awaits the conclusion of the regular season around the Conference Carolinas to determine its seeding in the Conference Carolinas Tournament.
