Mount Olive posts sweep over Chowan
MOUNT OLIVE – Featuring three players with double-digit kills, the University of Mount Olive women’s volleyball delivered a 3-0 sweep over Chowan by scores of 25-20, 25-22, 25-19 on Oct. 25 in Conference Carolinas action at Kornegay Arena.
With the win, the Trojans extended their winning streak to seven straight and improved to 19-8 overall behind a 12-2 mark in conference play. Mount Olive has three conference matches remaining in the regular season with UMO and UNC-Pembroke holding two losses in the league. Meanwhile, the Hawks dropped to 9-16 this season with a 6-8 record in league action.
Senior Ele’sia Williams led all players with 13 kills and added three digs. She has reached double-figures in kills in four of the last six matches. Fellow senior Amara Eziakonwa finished with 11 kills, two aces and three digs, while teammate Alyssa Jackson totaled 10 kills. Seniors Jenna Myer had 26 assists and senior Madison Goodman had 24.
Sophomores Neza Pec and Morgan Prots combined for nearly 50 digs in the match, led by Pec with a career-high 26. Prots surpassed at least 20 digs for the 11th time this year after collecting 21 in the contest.
Mount Olive totaled a match-high 20 kills in the opening set to take a 1-0 advantage. The Hawks established an early 10-6 lead after capitalizing on five attacking errors before the Trojans answered with an 8-2 rally to take a 14-12 lead. The Hawks managed to tie the match at 16-16 before UMO closed the first set with a 9-4 run behind a pair of kills from Jackson to win it 25-20.
In the second set, Mount Olive built an 8-4 lead before both sides exchanged the next 12 points. Chowan scored five of the following seven points to trim the deficit to 16-15. UMO would stretch the advantage to 20-17 before three straight points by Hawks tied the match 20-20. The Trojans finished the set with a short 5-2 rally to win by a 25-22 margin.
UMO completed the 3-0 sweep in the third after notching 16 kills. Chowan raced out to a comfortable 11-4 advantage to open the set before Mount Olive closed the gap by scoring four of the following five points to trim the lead to 12-8. After back-to-back points by the Hawks, UMO went on an 11-1 run behind three kills from sophomore Caroline Cox to take a 19-15 lead. Chowan halted the rally with three consecutive points, but the Trojans countered with a 5-1 run to extend the lead. Following a service error, Eziakonwa delivered a kill to secure the 3-0 win.
— From University of Mount Olive Athletics
