RALEIGH, N.C. (Sept. 7) – In the season-opening Shaw U Invitational, the Trojans struggled offensively in a 3-0 loss (25-27, 19-25, 23-25) against the host Shaw in a non-conference matchup on Saturday afternoon in the C.C. Spaulding Gymnasium.
With the loss, the University of Mount Olive women's volleyball program falls to 1-1 following their first invitational of the 2024 season. It marks the seventh time the two sides have met since 2021 with UMO holding a slight 4-3 edge. Meanwhile, the Lady Bears improve to 3-0 after recording three sweeps and a pair of victories over Conference Carolinas opponents.
Senior
Ashlyn Stone finished with a team-high six kills while tallying four digs and two aces over three sets played. Junior
Sam Widelski contributed five kills and a trio of digs and sophomore
Kaitlyn Landis totaled four kills on a .333 clip. Freshman
Olivia Melvin also registered four kills in the loss while sophomore
Lyndsay Reid directed the offense with nine assists and a pair of digs.
Junior
Caroline Sheaffer led the defensive effort with 10 digs and junior
Breanna Tanton finished with six digs while adding six assists.
In the opening set, Shaw built a 10-5 advantage before the Trojans countered with a 10-3 run to take a 15-13 edge. The Lady Bears answered with five consecutive points to reclaim the lead, but UMO scored six of the next eight points to hold a 21-20 advantage. With a 25-24 lead for Mount Olive, Shaw rallied to score three straight points to escape the first set with a 27-25 win.
The Lady Bears leaped out to an early 9-5 edge in the second set before UMO mounted an 8-2 rally to take a 12-11 advantage after capitalizing on four attacking errors. Shaw responded with seven unanswered points to regain the lead by an 18-13 margin. The Lady Bears kept the momentum and eventually sealed the second set by a score of 25-19.
In the third set, Mount Olive established a 9-6 edge behind a pair of kills by Landis, but Shaw quickly answered with a 6-1 run to take a 12-10 lead. The Trojans responded by scoring four of the following five points before the Lady Bears rallied to reclaim a 19-16 advantage. UMO countered with three consecutive points to tie the match at 19-19 before grabbing a 23-21 edge behind kills from Stone and senior
Kate Carter. Shaw managed to answer back with four straight points to secure the sweep, 25-23.
The Trojans return to Kornegay Arena next week for the Mount Olive Invitational, which will feature four matches for each program in attendance, as UMO faces Edinboro at noon on Friday, Sept. 13.
