MOUNT OLIVE (March 14)- Make it 28-straight set wins for Mount Olive on their 10-game winning streak, as the Trojans for the second time this season defeated North Greenville via a 3-0 sweep (25-23, 25-17, 25-22) in Conference Carolinas play on Friday night.
With the win, Mount Olive bolsters an impressive 12-2 record along with a 7-0 mark in league play. The Trojans will hit the hay early tonight to prepare for their next match tomorrow afternoon against Belmont Abbey on March 15, at 2 p.m. Meanwhile, North Greenville sees their two-game winning streak snapped as they drop to 7-9 on the year and 4-5 in conference action.
Junior
Kory Grant led all Trojan scorers with 11 kills on a .321 clip while collecting seven digs on the evening efforts. Junior
Constantinos Iacovou had an impressive outing as he picked up nine kills on a stellar .818 hitting percentage while adding two blocks. Senior
Tate Sandvig rejoined the lineup and totaled seven kills, while fellow senior
Blake Hosic also registered seven kills. Junior
Jackson Lahey was as advertised on the evening as he dished out 33 assists with six blocks, three digs, and two service aces.
Freshman libero
Luca Colombo managed the back line of the Trojans with ease while picking up seven digs in the contest.
The first set saw North Greenville open up a 9-5 lead against a Trojans team who had not played for nearly two weeks as they shook off the early rust. Trouble continued for the Trojans as they traded points until it was 14-9 in favor of the Trailblazers before finally mounting a comeback. They would bring the set to a one-point margin several times before tying it up at 20-20. The race to five more points was on as Mount Olive saw Sandvig pick up two crucial kills, eventually taking it 25-23.
Set two was more the UMO pace as the Trojans jumped out in front quickly 4-1 and would maintain that lead the rest of the way as NGU neither tied nor took the lead the entire set. It was a one-point game briefly as UMO was up 16-15, but Mount Olive tallied a key seven straight points to make the contest 21-15 and cruise to a 25-17 win.
The final set was another battle as NGU attempted to force a fourth set. After a kill through a quick set by Lahey to Iacovou early on, UMO was on top 14-10. That lead was short-lived, however, as NGU fought and brought it to a tie at 16-16. An exchange of points saw both teams, for the second time today, within five points of a set win. NGU held a 21-20 edge late in the third before a 5-1 rally by the Trojans sealed the sweep, 25-22.
Mount Olive will have a quick turnaround tomorrow, Saturday, March 15, as it takes on the visiting Belmont Abbey Crusaders, starting at 2 p.m.
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