FORT VALLEY, Ga. (Jan. 18) – The Trojan delivered a dominant offensive effort with 51 kills on a .377 clip to sweep the season series over Fort Valley State by a 3-1 margin on Saturday afternoon in non-conference action.
With the win, the University of Mount Olive men's volleyball program improves to 2-0 overall following the season-opening weekend. The Trojans are set to fly out to the Midwest next week for matches against Lewis and Loyola before hosting their home opener on Friday, Jan. 31. Meanwhile, Fort Valley State falls to 0-4 with three losses coming via sweep.
For a second-straight match, senior
Tate Sandvig paced the team with 14 kills on an impressive .545 hitting percentage, adding one ace, two blocks, and nine digs. Junior
Kory Grant contributed 11 kills, one ace, three blocks, and five digs over four sets played. Senior
Holden Maryott totaled nine kills on a .818 clip with two blocks while senior
Blake Hosic recorded eight kills, one ace, and six digs on Saturday. Junior
Jackson Lahey directed the offense with 45 assists, three kills, and three digs.
In the opening set, the Trojans registered 14 kills on a .500 clip with just one attacking error. Mount Olive built a 12-9 lead in the first set behind three kills from Grant before FVSU responded with four unanswered points to take a 13-12 edge. Following a pair of ties, UMO scored four of the next five points to grab a 20-17 advantage before eventually stretching the lead to 23-19. The Wildcats closed the deficit to 24-22 before a kill by Maryott secured the win, 25-22.
Fort Valley State established a quick 6-3 edge before extending the lead to 10-6 early in the second set. Mount Olive tallied five of the following six points to tie the match at 11-11, but the Wildcats managed to regain the lead late in the set, 18-16. The Trojans capitalized on a pair of errors and two kills by Sandvig to take a 20-19 edge. FVSU finished the second set on a 6-2 rally to claim the victory, 25-22.
In the third set, the Wildcat once again took a 6-5 edge before the Trojans mounted a 7-1 run to race ahead by a 12-7 margin. Mount Olive built their advantage to 19-12 behind a pair of kills by Sandvig, but FVSU trimmed the deficit to 21-17. UMO totaled three straight kills to reach set points before the Wildcats rallied with four unanswered points to trail 24-21. Grant put Mount Olive back into the lead with a kill to win the set, 25-21.
The Trojans jumped out to a 9-5 advantage in the fourth set with a pair of kills by Grant and Sandvig. Fort Valley State cut the deficit to 11-10 before UMO scored six of the next seven points to stretch the lead to 17-11. The Wildcats closed the gap to 22-18 late in the fourth before a kill by Grant and two service errors by FVSU sealed the victory, 25-21.
The Trojans will be idle for a week before traveling to the Midwest to face Lewis on Friday, Jan. 24 at 8 p.m.
