MOUNT OLIVE – The University of Mount Olive women's volleyball team battled top-ranked Francis Marion in its regular season finale, taking a set before falling 3-1 at Kornegay Arena.

Francis Marion leads Conference Carolinas with a 21-9 overall record and an 18-2 mark in league play. The Patriots also rank seventh in the Southeast Region, just behind Emmanuel (Ga.) and Converse.

Mount Olive finishes the regular season at 12-16 overall and 10-10 in conference play, including a 6-4 record at home.
The Trojans snapped FMU's streak of seven straight sweeps, becoming the first team to take a set from the Patriots since their last meeting on Oct. 18 in Florence, S.C.

After FMU claimed the first two sets, UMO rallied to win the third 25-22. The set stayed tight early before UMO gained momentum behind kills from Olivia Melvin and Kaitlyn Landis, blocks from Danielle Parker and Landis, and an ace from Lyndsay Reid. The Trojans erased a 17-14 deficit and closed the set on a short run, clinching it after a FMU attack error.
The Patriots recovered to take the fourth set 25-19 and seal the match.

UMO hit .238 as a team (55 kills, 20 errors, 147 attacks) — the fifth-highest percentage allowed by FMU this season. Melvin led with 15 kills, followed by Landis with 12 and Rachel Clark with 10.

Reid and Breanna Tanton combined for 42 assists, while Sam Widelski (13) and Kacey Gore (14) paced the defense in digs.

Mount Olive enters the 2025 Conference Carolinas Women's Volleyball Championship as the No. 10 seed and will travel to Tigerville, S.C., to face No. 9 seed King (Tenn.) in the opening round.