UMO posts league win at Emmanuel

FRANKLIN SPRINGS, Ga. – Following another stellar all-around performance on March 18, the University of Mount Olive men’s volleyball team secured a 3-1 win at Emmanuel in Conference Carolinas play by scores of 25-17, 24-26, 25-21, 25-20.

With the win, the Trojans swept their weekend league road trip and improved to 7-12 overall with a 3-6 record in conference action. Meanwhile, the Lions dropped to 7-14 this season with a 2-7 mark in league play.

Junior Hayden Frear produced a kill/dig double-double with a team-leading 15 kills while tallying 15 digs. Sophomore Tate Sandvig recorded 14 kills with six digs, while senior Pedro Gonzalez totaled 11 kills. Junior Justin Gregory and sophomore Holden Maryott each added nine kills. Freshman Jackson Lahey led the offense behind an assist/dig double-double with 53 assists and 11 digs.

On the defensive side, Frear paced the team with 15 digs, while senior Trevor Treser followed closely with 13. Gregory and Lahey each reached double figures with 11 digs. At the net, Mount Olive tallied 14 total blocks with Lahey and Gonzalez pacing the team with seven, while Maryott registered six.

In the first set, the Trojans leaped out to an early 8-3 advantage with five players recording a kill. Mount Olive later went on a 5-2 run to take a 17-9 lead. With UMO holding a 20-13 edge, Mount Olive scored four unanswered points to reach match point, but Emmanuel responded with four straight to trail 24-17. The Trojans claimed the first set following an attacking error, 25-17.

The second set had little separation in the opening points before Mount Olive built a 14-11 advantage. The Lions countered with back-to-back points, but the Trojans pushed ahead offensively with a 6-2 run with a pair of kills by Sandvig and Gregory to lead 20-15. Emmanuel managed the trim the deficit to 24-20 before tallying six consecutive points to win the set by a 26-24 margin.

The Lions established an early 8-5 lead in the third before UMO rallied to tie the contest at 13-13 following a kill by Frear. Emmanuel briefly regained the lead, but the Trojans answered with a 10-3 run to take a 22-17 lead. The Lions remained within striking distance, trailing by a 23-21 margin, before a kill by Gonzalez and an ace from Sandvig sealed the third set, 25-21.

In the fourth set, Mount Olive raced out to a 10-5 lead after back-to-back kills by Frear and Sandvig. The Trojans maintained their advantage by scoring six of the next 10 points to extend the lead to 16-9. Emmanuel mounted a 5-1 rally to close the gap to 17-14 before another run by UMO stretched the advantage to 23-16. The Lions responded by scoring four of the following five points, but a service error closed the match in favor of Mount Olive, 25-20.

— From University of Mount Olive Athletics