One of the top players in Mount Olive program history will return to his alma mater next season with his new team.
Charleston and coach Robert Poole will travel to play Mount Olive in a non-conference match on Feb. 6 as part of their recently unveiled 2026 schedule.
Poole, the second-year head coach, with a two-time First-Team All-ConfCarolinas pin-hitter and in 2018 ended his college career second in program history with 1,000 career kills. The 2018 runner-up for the National Server of the Year also continues to hold the school record with 180 career aces.
Charleston under Poole finished last season at No. 7 in the Division II National Coaches Poll. and advanced to the EIVA Tournament quarterfinals. Among the top victories for Charleston in 2025 included the first win in program history against Penn State.
Mount Olive went undefeated in conference play to win the 2025 ConfCarolinas regular season championship and ended at No. 5 in the Division II National Coaches Poll. The Crusaders, though, were upset in the conference tournament finals to miss out on the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance.
Both the Golden Eagles and Trojans are slated to return multiple all-conference starters.
Charleston outside attacker Kai Cousins, the 2025 EIVA Freshman of the Year, was in the nation’s top 30 with a 3.44 kills per game average.
Mount Olive setter Jackson Lahey was named the 2025 ConfCarolinas Offensive Player of the Year and guided the offense to a top-10 attack percentage in the nation at .316. In addition, libero Luca Colombo earned ConfCarolinas Defensive Player of the Year honors and had a nation-best 2.96 digs per game average.
This will be the fourth all-time meeting between Mount Olive and Charleston and the first time they have played each other since Charleston swept a two-match series in 2023.
2026 Charleston schedule
Jan. 11 vs. Lees-McRae
Jan. 16 vs. McKendree
Jan. 17 vs. Daemen
Jan. 23 at Ball State
Jan. 24 at Purdue Fort Wayne
Jan. 30 vs. Queens
Jan. 31 vs. Queens
Feb. 3 at Central State
Feb. 6 at Mount Olive
Feb. 7 at Catawba
Feb. 13 vs. George Mason
Feb. 14 vs. George Mason
Feb. 20 vs. Sacred Heart
Feb. 21 vs. Sacred Heart
Feb. 27 at Harvard
Feb. 28 at Harvard
March 13 vs. Northern Kentucky
March 14 vs. Northern Kentucky
March 17 vs. North Greenville
March 20 at Lincoln Memorial
March 21 at Tusculum
March 27 at Princeton
March 28 at Princeton
April 3 vs. Penn State
April 4 vs. Penn State
April 10 at NJIT
April 11 at NJIT
April 16 vs. Catawba