MOUNT OLIVE (March 15) – The streak continued on Saturday afternoon, as the University of Mount Olive men's volleyball program claimed an 11-straight victory and 31-straight sets won following a 3-0 sweep (31-29, 25-21, 25-20) over Belmont Abbey in Conference Carolinas action at Kornegay Arena.
On a second game in as many days, UMO put in a rebellious effort on their way to yet another conference win. The Trojans fell behind in each set by a minimum of five points on the afternoon but were able to climb back into each of those sets to put the Crusaders away. UMO holds an impressive 13-2 mark along with an 8-0 record in league play. Meanwhile, Belmont Abbey falls to 10-8 on the year and 8-2 in conference action.
The duo of junior
Kory Grant and senior
Tate Sandvig combined for 28 kills on Saturday to pace the Trojan offense. Grant finished with 14 kills on a .314 hitting percentage with five digs, while Sandvig also totaled 14 kills on a .440 clip with one ace and four digs. Senior
Blake Hosic registered six kills, one ace, and one digs in two sets played. Junior
Jackson Lahey was on a roll once again, as on the afternoon he sent out 35 assists with two blocks, seven digs, and two kills against the Crusaders.
Freshman libero
Luca Colombo had a team-high eight digs for Mount Olive as well as two big-time assists to help the Trojans rally back in the third set.
The first set saw the Crusaders jump on a heavy-legged Trojan offense that was still feeling the effects of the previous night after three long sets against NGU, as Belmont Abbey had a firm 18-13 advantage. With the consecutive straight sets streak on the line, head coach
Yigit Erkek called a timeout to settle down his group as Mount Olive would storm back into the set to eventually tie it at 21-21. The set would turn out to be the highest total points set of the season for UMO as they shook off multiple game-winning point opportunities from the Crusaders to take the set win, 31-29.
The second set was just as challenging for the Trojans as the second-place conference team in Belmont Abbey looked to tie the match. UMO found themselves down by as much as five once more on the afternoon as the Crusaders used some strong defense at the net to propel them in front, 8-3. A strong middle of the set allowed Mount Olive to regain the lead at 14-13 and remain ahead the rest of the way, winning out the set 25-21.
The third and final set was another gritty effort by the Crusaders as they attempted to avoid the sweep. After another hot start, Belmont Abbey found its largest lead in any set on the afternoon as they were up by 15-9 margin. That lead was short-lived, however, as UMO pulled together to scrape its way back to a tie at 19-19. A much-needed five-point run would ultimately be too tall of a task for the opposition to overcome as Mount Olive won the set, 25-20.
Mount Olive will have rest-up before taking the trip down to its rival Barton this upcoming Tuesday, March 15, at 7:00 p.m.
