MOUNT OLIVE (March 28) – Following a balanced offensive effort on Friday evening, the University of Mount Olive men's volleyball program posted a 3-0 win (25-21, 25-22, 25-18) over Emmanuel. UMO officially clinched a share of the regular season title and will win the conference outright with one win in its final two Conference Carolinas matches.
With the win, UMO won its 15th straight match while improving 17-2 overall behind a perfect 12-0 record in league play. UMO secures its fifth regular-season title in program history and clinches the No. 1 seed in the Conference Carolinas Tournament. Meanwhile, the Lions, who had won three of their previous four contests, dropping to 4-20 this season with a 2-9 mark in league play.
Junior setter
Jackson Lahey collected 30 assists and moved within striking distance of the all-time assists record, needing 33 to set the new mark. He saw four of his teammates collect at least seven kills as the Trojans hit for a .337 clip as a team. Senior
Blake Hosic picked up eight kills, eight digs, and a block in three sets of action on the evening. Junior
Constantinos Iacovou had a productive game as he dropped eight kills on a .583 hitting percentage with two blocks. Senior middle blocker
Holden Maryott was ultra-efficient on a .778 clip with seven kills while adding two blocks and a dig. Junior
Kory Grant also tallied seven kills, six digs, and a solo block against the Lions.
Freshman libero
Luca Colombo held the backline as he nabbed 10 digs and an assist.
The first set was filled with multiple errors from both ends as the two teams combined for 21 errors, with nine coming from the service line. Regardless, UMO was able to take a 20-15 lead after coming back from being down 15-14 heading into a media timeout. This run would eventually stand too tall for the Lions to mount a comeback as the Trojans took it 25-21.
Both teams saw their best play of volleyball in the second set, as it was a battle the whole way through. After pretty much-swapping points through the first half of the set, the Lions equalized the score at 14-14. A few points later, an emphatic kill by Trojan setter Lahey, gave the Trojans a three-point run as the score moved to 17-14. Emmanuel would cut the deficit to 24-22 but the Trojans finished off the set with a kill by Hosic, 25-22.
The final set of the evening ended up being the quickest as UMO catapulted in front mid-way through the set 17-13. They would use an 8-5 run to close out the set and remain a perfect 7-0 at Kornegay Arena, 25-18.
Mount Olive will have a quick turnaround as it faces off with Erskine tomorrow, Saturday, March 29, at 2 p.m.
