Mount Olive was pushed and rallied back in a showdown between the top two teams in ConfCarolinas.
Mount Olive overcame a five-point deficit late in the first game and fought off four game-points in overtime as it swept Belmont Abbey 31-29, 25-21, 25-20 on Tuesday in Mount Olive, North Carolina.
The Trojans (13-2, 8-0 ConfCarolinas) with this victory remain undefeated in conference play and now have a one-match lead ahead of the second-place Crusaders (10-8, 8-2 ConfCarolinas). In addition, Mount Olive has the second-longest winning streak in the nation at 11 matches and has won 31 consecutive sets during the streak.
Outside attacker Grant Kory finished with a team-high 14 kills on a 314 attack percentage, including a kill with the Trojans trailing 18-13 in the opening game that started a 8-3 run. Kory also had a kill with Belmont Abbey at game-point to force overtime and then in the overtime had a kill on another Crusaders’ game-point opportunity.
Along with Kory, pin-hitter Tate Sandvig contributed 14 kills on a .440 attack percentage with six kills coming in the opening game.
Setter Jackson Lahey guided the offense to out-hit the defending ConfCarolinas champions Belmont Abbey .333 to .242.
Lahey also delivered a match-winning ace to cap off a 7-1 run in the third game that completed the sweep. The setter during that run added a kill and a block, while Sandvig had back-to-back kills.
Belmont Abbey pin-hitter Caden Day in the loss finished with a match-high 15 kills and hit .345. Middle attacker Jibriel Elhaddad added six kills and had one error on a .385 attack percentage.
Both Mount Olive and Belmont Abbey were without starters for the majority of this match.
Belmont Abbey outside attacker Matthew Staskunas, the 2024 ConfCarolinas Offensive Player of the Year, was sidelined except for a brief appearance late in the third game.
Mount Olive played without middle attacker Holden Maryott. Maryott entered the weekend in the nation’s top 20 with a 1.03 blocks per game average.