MOUNT OLIVE (Feb. 18) – In front of a rowdy crowd inside Kornegay Arena, the duo of junior Kory Gant and senior
Tate Sandvig combined for 26 kills as the Trojans swept Catawba 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-14) in non-conference play on Wednesday night.
With the win, the University of Mount Olive men's volleyball team continues its winning way with a seventh straight victory to improve to 9-2 this season. The Trojans swept the season series over the Catawba Indians with a pair of 3-0 victories over the first-year program. Meanwhile, Catawba falls to 6-7 overall under first-year head coach Bill Ferguson.
Grant finished with a game-high 15 kills on a .462 hitting percentage with two assists and two blocks over three sets. Sandvig reached double-digit kills with 11 on an impressive .688 clip while adding four service aces, four blocks, and eight digs. Fellow senior
Blake Hosic recorded seven kills on a .385 hitting percentage with three digs, one ace, and one block. Senior
Jackson Lahey guided the offense with 34 assists and eight digs on Wednesday night.
Freshman
Luca Colombo delivered an outstanding defensive effort with 15 digs and three assists.
In the first set, the Catawba Indians established an early 6-5 lead before the Trojans rallied with a 6-1 run while capitalizing on three attacking errors to take an 11-7 advantage. Catawba closed the gap to 12-10, but Mount Olive scored four unanswered points to grab a 16-10 edge following a pair of aces from Sandvig. The sides traded points down the stretch before UMO scored five of the final seven points to claim the first set, 25-17.
Mount Olive took an 8-5 advantage in the second set before tallying six of the following eight points to hold a 14-7 lead. Catawba trimmed the deficit to 15-10, but the Trojans mounted a 5-1 run behind a pair of kills by Sandvig to go ahead 20-11. With UMO leading 22-15 late in the set, Mount Olive registered three of the final four points to win by a 25-16 margin.
In the third set, the Catawba Indians jumped ahead by a 7-5 margin before Mount Olive countered with five straight points, 10-7. Catawba closed the gap to 11-10, but the Trojans scored six consecutive points to lead by a 17-10 margin. Following back-to-back points by the Catawba Indians, UMO went on an 8-2 run to complete the sweep, 25-14.
Mount Olive will be idle for over a week before returning to Conference Carolinas play on Friday, Feb. 28, on the road against Erskine with the start time set for 7 p.m.
