MOUNT OLIVE (Sept. 17) – The duo of senior
Ashlyn Stone and sophomore
Kaitlyn Landis combined for 30 kills on Tuesday night, as the Trojans registered a 3-1 victory over Virginia Union in non-conference play at Kornegay Arena.
With the win, the University of Mount Olive women's volleyball team improved to 3-4 this season and recorded back-to-back victories for the first time this year. The Trojans hold a 5-0 record against the Lady Panthers dating back to 2011, including wins over the previous three campaigns. Meanwhile, Virginia Union drops to 3-7 overall while holding a 1-2 record against Conference Carolinas opponents.
Coming off Conference Carolinas Player of the Week honors, Stone led the team with a game-high 16 kills on a .324 hitting percentage, adding six digs, three blocks, and two aces. Landis finished with 14 kills on a .357 clip while freshman
Olivia Melvin totaled eight kills and three service aces in three sets. Sophomore
Lyndsay Reid directed the offense with 41 assists and contributed six digs.
Defensively, freshman
Kacey Gore matched a season-high 13 digs and junior
Caroline Sheaffer finished with nine digs in the win. Stone and sophomore
Rachel Clark controlled the net with three blocks.
The Trojans established an early 4-0 advantage in the first set before the Lady Panthers stormed back with an 8-3 run to gain an 8-7 lead. Mount Olive responded by scoring six of the next seven points with a pair of kills by Stone to hold a 13-9 edge. UMO quickly extended the advantage to 18-12 before kills from three different Trojans stretched the lead to 22-15. Virginia Union answered with back-to-back points before the Trojans closed the set with a 25-18 win.
In the second set, Mount Olive jumped out to a 6-3 edge before the Lady Panthers tallied three straight points to tie the contest, 6-6. UMO countered with a 12-3 run with a trio of aces, and Stone added three kills to extend the advantage to 18-9. The Lady Panthers rallied to cut the deficit to 21-18 before the Trojans scored four of the final six points to claim the set, 25-20.
Virginia Union held a 5-3 advantage to begin the third before expanding the lead to 13-8 at the midway point of the set. Mount Olive answered back to close the gap to 15-14 with a pair of kills from senior
Breanna Reisinger and junior
Sam Widelski. The Lady Panthers regained the lead to hold a 21-16 edge, but UMO recorded five consecutive points to tie the match, 21-21. Virginia Union scored four unanswered points to avoid the sweep with a 25-21 win.
In the fourth set, Mount Olive quickly grabbed a 10-4 lead with three kills by Landis before the Lady Panthers cut the deficit to 13-11. The Trojans maintained the lead for the remainder of the set to hold a 21-16 edge before scoring four straight points to seal the win, 25-16.
The Trojans will return to the court on Friday, Sept. 20, to face Emmanuel on the road in Conference Carolinas action at 6 p.m.
