NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (April 19) – Despite a team-high 13 kills by senior Justin Gregory, the No. 4 seeded University of Mount Olive men's volleyball team was eliminated by a 3-0 margin against No. 1 Belmont Abbey in the semifinals of the Conference Carolinas Championship on Friday evening.
With the loss, the Trojans closed the 2024 campaign with a 17-10 overall mark under first-year head coach Yigit Erkek. Mount Olive made a six-win improvement this season while claiming three additional league victories. Meanwhile, the Crusaders advance to the championship game on Saturday, April 20, to face North Greenville or King while improving to 20-4 this year.
Gregory finished with 13 kills on a .333 hitting percentage while adding two service aces and seven digs. Fellow senior Hayden Frear contributed eight kills on a .389 clip with two aces, one block, and five digs over three sets played. Due to an injury, sophomore Kory Grant stepped into the setter role and guided the offense with 25 assists and four digs on Friday. Defensively, sophomore Mert Asma and Gregory tied the team lead with seven digs.
The Crusaders built an early 4-2 lead in the opening set before Mount Olive rallied with four straight points behind a pair of kills by Gregory to grab a 6-4 advantage. Belmont Abbey answered back to tie the contest at 9-9 before scoring four of the next six points to take a 13-11 edge. The Trojans managed to tie the contest at 15-15, but the Crusaders responded with a 6-2 run to take a 21-17 lead. BAC managed to close out the first set by a 25-19 margin.
In the second set, Belmont Abbey raced ahead by a score of 8-4 before the Trojans tallied four of the following seven points with two kills by sophomore Constantinos Iacovou to close the gap to 11-8. After alternating points, the Crusaders mounted an 11-5 run to take a significant 23-13 advantage. The sides traded the final four points, as BAC took the set, 25-15.
With the match tied 10-10 in the third set, the Crusaders went on a 7-3 run to take a 17-13 advantage. The Trojans rallied by scoring eight of the following nine points with a pair of kills by Frear to hold a 21-18 lead. Belmont Abbey countered with a 7-2 rally to claim the third set by a 25-23 margin.
