MOUNT OLIVE (Mar. 1) – Senior
Justin Gregory registered a game-high 12 kills on a .348 clip, as the Trojans secured a 3-0 sweep in Conference Carolinas action over Lees-McRaes at Kornegay Arena on Friday night.
With the win, the University of Mount Olive men's volleyball team claimed its third straight win to improve to 11-3 this season with a 5-2 mark in conference play. The Trojans capture the season sweep over the Bobcats while holding a 26-1 record in the series dating back to 2012. Meanwhile, Lees-McRae drops to 1-15 overall behind a 0-7 mark in league action.
Gregory paced the team with 12 kills on a .348 hitting percentage with four digs and two blocks over three sets played. Senior
Tom Klotzbuecher finished with nine kills, five blocks, and three digs, while sophomore
Kory Grant tallied five kills on a .625 clip against the Bobcats. Sophomore
Jackson Lahey led the offense with 27 assists while adding two aces, six blocks, and two digs.
Sophomore
Raymond Borges guided the defensive effort with six digs and freshman Maksim Kozanov protected the net with a career-high 10 blocks.
In the opening set, Mount Olive jumped ahead by an 8-4 margin behind a trio of three kills before Lees-McRae responded by scoring four of the following five points to close the gap, 8-7. The Trojans answered back by tallying three consecutive points before the teams traded the next five points. With UMO holding a 13-10 advantage, the Trojans recorded three straight points to extend the lead before the Bobcats trimmed the deficit to 23-19. UMO finished the first set with back-to-back points to seal a 25-19 win.
Mount Olive established an early 7-4 lead before mounting a 6-1 run with kills by four different players, 13-5. With the Trojans ahead by a 17-10 margin, UMO scored six of the next seven points to build a 23-11 advantage, but Lees-McRae countered with a 4-1 rally to cut the deficit to 24-15. Freshman
Christos Savvidis registered the final point on a kill to win by a 25-15 margin.
In the third set, the Trojans climbed ahead by a score of 9-5 before the Bobcats eventually closed the gap to 16-14 with a short 4-2 run. UMO scored three of the following four points to extend the lead to 19-15 on a kill by Gregory. Lees-McRae totaled seven of the next 10 points to tie the contest at 22-22, but Mount Olive went a 3-1 run to secure the victory, 25-23.
The Trojans return to the court tomorrow, Saturday, March 2, to face King at Kornegay Arena, starting at 2 p.m.
