ROMEOVILLE, Ill. (Jan. 24) – Facing a nationally-ranked opponent, the University of Mount Olive men's volleyball program took No. 13 Lewis to the brink in a 3-2 loss (25-21, 19-25, 28-30, 27-25, 18-20) on Friday night in non-conference play.
With the loss, the Trojans fall to 2-1 this season entering the second weekend of the 2025 slate. Mount Olive will continue its Midwest trip tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 25, at No. 8 Loyola with the match time set for 6 p.m. Meanwhile, Lewis improves to 5-1 overall while playing all six matches at the Neil Carey Arena.
Senior
Jackson Lahey joined exclusive company in UMO men's volleyball history after surpassing 2,000 career assists in his career. He became the third-ever player to accomplish the feat and is on pace to break the program record held by Jeff Yasalonis (2015-2018) with 2,602 assists.
Junior
Kory Grant delivered a career-high 20 kills on Friday while adding two service aces, two blocks, and eight digs over five sets. Senior
Tate Sandvig finished with 16 kills on a .389 hitting percentage with five blocks and seven digs. Junior
Constantinos Iacovou matched a career-high with 11 kills on a .526 clip while tallying three aces, two assists, and four blocks. Senior
Holden Maryott controlled the net with seven blocks, adding 10 kills on a .500 hitting percentage. Lahey guided the offense with 54 assists, three kills, three blocks, and two digs.
Senior
Blake Hosic led the defensive effort with 13 digs while totaling six kills. Freshman
Luca Colombo finished with 12 kills and three assists in the five-set thriller.
The Flyers produced an early 8-6 advantage after capitalizing on a handful of errors before the sides exchanged the next 10 points. Mount Olive totaled six of the following eight points to hold a 17-15 lead before stretching the lead to 20-16. Lewis rallied to close the deficit to 22-20 late in the first before a 3-1 run by the Trojans sealed the set, 25-21.
In the second set, Mount Olive established an 11-9 lead behind a pair of kills by Grant before six unanswered points by the Flyers flipped the score to 15-11. After a UMO timeout, the Trojans closed the gap to 16-14 after another two kills from Grant. Lewis countered with six consecutive points to take a 22-14 advantage, but Mount Olive battled back to trim the deficit to 24-19. The Flyers took the second set with a kill to win by a 25-19 margin.
The Trojans built a quick 10-3 lead to begin the third set with Iacovou registering a pair of service aces. The Flyers scored six of the next eight points to trim the deficit to 12-9 before the sides traded points late into the set. With Mount Olive leading 21-16, Lewis climbed back into the match to trail 23-21 before a service error provided UMO with a set point. The Flyers battled off set point three times before eventually stealing the third by a score of 30-28.
In the fourth set, the Flyers grabbed a 7-4 advantage, but the Trojan offense responded to tie the contest at 12-12. Lewis reclaimed its lead at 17-15 before UMO took the lead behind three straight points, 18-17. Coming down the stretch, the game was tied six times, with the Flyers holding match point at 24-23. Mount Olive answered with a 4-1 run with kills from three different players to force a fifth set, 27-25.
Mount Olive managed to take a 6-4 lead to start the fifth set before Lewis tied the match at 7-7. The sides exchanged the next 17 points with UMO remaining ahead 16-15 before the Flyers countered with back-to-back points. The Trojans battled off a match point to take an 18-17 lead, but Lewis scored three consecutive points to earn a hard-fought win, 20-18.
Mount Olive returns to the court tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 25, with a matchup against No. 8 Loyola at 6 p.m. (EST).
