Trojans sweep Barton in regular season finale
WILSON – In the regular season finale, the University of Mount Olive men’s volleyball team recorded a 3-0 sweep at Barton on April 13 in Conference Carolinas action by scores of 25-23, 25-20, 30-28.
With the win, the Trojans close the regular season with an 11-16 record and a 6-8 mark in league play. UMO enters the league tournament as the No. 6 seed and will face King in Bristol, Tenn., on Tuesday, April 18, at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs finished the year with a 5-19 overall record and a 4-10 mark in conference action.
Junior Justin Gregory delivered an outstanding performance with 13 kills while adding six digs, three service aces and three blocks. He eclipsed 200 kills in the regular season finale and tied for the team lead with 25 aces this season. Sophomore Tate Sandvig reached double-digit kills with 10, while junior Hayden Frear totaled nine kills, seven digs and two blocks. Freshman Jackson Lahey guided the offense with 35 assists while adding eight digs.
Senior libero Trevor Treser led the defensive effort with nine digs and posted three assists. The Trojans produced nine team blocks, led by sophomore Holden Maryott with six.
In the first set, Mount Olive leaped in front by a 5-2 margin following a kill by Sandvig before the Bulldogs rallied back to tie the match at 6-6. After exchanging the next four points, the Trojans capitalized on a pair of errors to regain the lead by a 10-8 margin. Barton countered with an 8-2 run to take a 16-12 lead before UMO responded with four straight points to tie the match at 16-16. The Bulldogs reclaimed a slight 18-16 edge before the Trojans went on a 7-2 run to pull ahead, 23-20. Barton once again tied the contest at 23-23 before back-to-back kills from senior Pedro Gonzalez and Gregory secured the set, 25-23.
Mount Olive jumped out to an early 11-6 advantage in the second set with four different UMO players registering a kill. The Bulldogs eventually cut the deficit to 16-12, but the Trojans answered by scoring four of the following five points to extend the lead to 20-13. Barton countered with a 5-1 run to close the gap to 21-18 before UMO sealed the set by tallying four of the final six points, 25-20.
The third set featured 18 ties and eight lead changes, as the Trojans completed the 3-0 sweep. Following eight ties early in the set, Mount Olive established a 14-11 lead after a kill by Frear. Barton countered with four consecutive points to take a 15-14 edge before the teams traded the following six points. UMO answered back with a 7-4 rally to reach match point at 24-22 before the Bulldogs flipped the script by attaining match point twice. The Trojans battled back with consecutive kills by Sandvig and Frear before a block at the net claimed the win, 30-28.
— From University of Mount Olive Athletics
