BELMONT, N.C. (Feb 17) – After surrendering 50 kills on a .427 hitting percentage, the University of Mount Olive's men's volleyball team dropped a 3-0 decision against Belmont Abbey on Saturday afternoon in conference play.
With the loss, the Trojans fall to 8-3 overall and 2-2 in league play. This lost marks UMO's first back-to-back losses this season. Meanwhile, the Crusaders improve to 7-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play.
Senior
Hayden Frear led the team with 10 kills on a .217 clip while also collecting five digs and a service ace. Senior
Justin Gregory totaled seven kills and seven digs, while sophomore
Constantinos Iacovou and senior
Chance Gallardo had five kills. Sophomore
Jackson Lahey led the offense with 33 assists and added three blocks.
On the defensive side, Gregory and sophomore
Mert Asma led with Trojans with seven digs.
In the first set, BAC hit an impressive .486 hitting percentage with 19 kills to take the first set. As the match battled back and forth between the two teams, the Crusaders sealed the 25-20 victory to take the 1-0 lead.
In the second set, Mount Olive took a 5-2 lead capitalizing on errors by Belmont Abbey, a service ace from Grant and kills from Gregory and Frear. BAC responded by tying the match 7-7. The Trojans extended the lead scoring three straight points, 9-7. The Crusaders then went on a 5-0 run to take a lead 13-10. Falling behind a 22-14 deficit, UMO scored four consecutive points with kills from Gregory, Lahey, and Gallardo, and an error from BAC, 22-18. Battling until the end, Belmont Abbey took the second set by 25-19 margin.
In the final set, the Crusaders collected 16 kills on a .333 clip with only four errors. The third set brought excitement as BAC and UMO exchanged points. With back-to-back kills by Frear and an attacking error by the Crusaders, UMO was in a 15-11 lead. With every serve, the points were contested with hard swings on both sides of the net. Tied at 24-24, the Trojans fell 27-25 in the final set.
Mount Olive returns to play on Friday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m. for its home opener against Erskine at Kornegay Arena.
