TIGERVILLE, S.C. (Feb. 16) – Junior
Kory Grant and senior
Tate Sandvig each tallied double-digit kills on Saturday, as the University of Mount Olive men's volleyball captured a 3-0 sweep (25-18, 25-20, 25-22) at North Greenville in Conference Carolinas action.
With the win, the Trojans extend their winning streak to six straight and improve to 8-2 overall with a 4-0 record in league play. Mount Olive sits atop the league standings with the lone perfect record and collects a sweep over the Trailblazers for the first time since 2018. Meanwhile, North Greenville drops to 3-4 this season behind a 2-2 mark in conference action.
Grant led the Trojans with 11 kills on a .435 hitting percentage with two blocks and two digs. Sandvig also reached double-figures with 10 kills on a .368 clip while adding one ace and seven digs. Fellow senior
Holden Maryott contributed six kills and four blocks, while junior
Constantinos Iacovou totaled six kills, three blocks, and four digs. Junior
Jackson Lahey directed the offense with 32 assists, two aces, two blocks, and five digs.
Freshman
Luca Colombo led the defensive effort with eight digs against the Trailblazers.
In the first set, the Trojans jumped out to a 9-5 advantage, including a 4-0 run after capitalizing on attacking errors. NGU answered with back-to-back points before Mount Olive recorded seven of the next nine points to take a 16-9 lead behind a pair of kills by Maryott. The sides traded points down the stretch before a kill by Grant sealed the win, 25-18.
The Trojan established a 10-6 lead in the second set with four different players recording kills. North Greenville responded with three straight points to close the gap, but UMO answered with a short 5-2 run, 15-11. Mount Olive maintained its lead late in the set before scoring four of the final six points to win by a 25-20 margin.
In the third set, the Trailblazers held an early 6-5 advantage before the sides were tied at 9-9. Mount Olive mounted a 7-2 run with a trio of kills by Sandvig to grab a 16-11 lead. NGU rallied to tie the match at 19-19 before the Trojans stormed ahead in the final points to secure the sweep, 25-22.
The Trojans return to Kornegay Arena on Tuesday, Feb. 18, for a non-conference matchup versus Catawba with the start time set for 7 p.m.
