Match Stats
- Mount Olive 3, Lees-McRae 0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-17)
- Mount Olive moves to 17-9; Lees-McRae falls to 10-17
- Mount Olive Advances to the Conference Carolinas Semifinals to Face No. 2 Seed King
- Mount Olive, N.C.
- Attendance: 296
- Box Score
Eleven service aces were the difference in an otherwise even match as Mount Olive swept Lees-McRae to advance to the Conference Carolinas semifinals Tuesday. The Trojans won the match 25-19, 25-22, 25-17.
Mount Olive outhit Lees-McRae .387 to .314, hitting .300 or better in each set, and outserved the Bobcats 11-3.
Junior opposite Robert Poole led the Trojans with 11 kills and three aces. Senior middle blocker Andrew Sydow added eight kills on a .727 hitting effort (8-0-11) and senior middle Alex Palmatier chipped in seven putaways and a team-leading four aces. Junior opposite Brett Rutledge also accounted for seven kills and six digs. Senior libero Josh Donahue paced the backcourt with nine digs.
Six players contributed three or more kills for Lees-McRae. Sophomore middle Hector Serviat led the way with eight kills on a .636 hitting effort. Freshman opposite Wes Rogman and senior outside Mark Shyka followed with seven and six respectively. Freshman setter Reto Pfund and senior libero Keenan Freitas each turned in seven digs apiece.
The teams split the first 20 points of the match, with neither gaining more than a three-point edge. Mount Olive pulled away with a 10-3 run, including kills by four different players. Lees-McRae cut the margin to five at 20-15, but would get no closer.
A 4-0 mid-set run gave the Trojans a 15-10 lead in Set 2, with help from two Palmatier kills. Later down 21-15, the Bobcats scored seven of the next 10 and staved off two Mount Olive set point chances to make it a two-point game at 24-22. Two Serviat kills and four Trojan errors aided the rally. A service error, however, ended the set at 25-22 for Mount Olive.
After a 6-6 tie to start Set 3, two aces and a handful of kills fueled a 7-1 Mount Olive run, which made it 12-7. Trojan error piled up, however, allowing the Bobcats to within one at 14-13. Mount Olive closed out the sweep with an 11-4 run. Four different players had putaways in the final stretch, during which Palmatier and Sydow also served up aces.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy: Mount Olive Athletics
Mount Olive, N.C. — The University of Mount Olive men’s volleyball team advanced in the 2017 Conference Carolinas Men’s Volleyball Tournament with a three-set sweep of Lees-McRae College, 25-19, 25-22, 25-17, in the Conference Carolinas Tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday night in Mount Olive, N.C. GAME INFORMATION Score: Mount Olive 3, Lees-McRae 0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-17) Records: Mount Olive (17-9, 14-4 CC), Lees-McRae (10-17, 8-10 CC) Location: Kornegay Arena, Mount Olive, N.C.
How It Happened Play-by-Play
FIRST SET
- After the Trojans took a 9-6 lead, Lees-McRae recorded three-straight points to tie the set at nine.
- UMO responded with a 9-3 run that gave the Trojans an 18-12 advantage and forced a Bobcat timeout.
- Down the stretch, Mount Olive withstood a 5-2 run by Lees-McRae to capture the opening set victory, 25-19.
- Both teams hit well in the first set, as Lees-McRae hit .417 to the Trojans’ .406.
SECOND SET
- The Trojans held a slim advantage at 11-10 to open the set.
- UMO increased its lead with a 4-0 run to give Mount Olive a 15-10 advantage.
- In the final points, Lees-McRae closed within two at 24-22.
- The Trojans ended the set and took a 2-0 lead as a Bobcat service error gave UMO the 25-22 second set win.
THIRD SET
- Lees-McRae opened the third set with a 6-5 lead.
- The Trojans answered with a 7-1 run to open up a 12-7 lead over the Bobcats.
- The Bobcats got back within a pair of points at 16-14, but the Trojans once again had an answer as UMO earned the 25-17 set win and the three-set sweep.
KEY STATS
- Junior Robert Poole led the Trojans with 11 kills in the win.
- Fellow junior Josh Donahue tallied nine digs to lead UMO, while sophomore Shane Yeo chipped in a team-best 25 assists.
- The Trojans outhit Lees-McRae in the match, .387 to .314.
Up Next
UMO advances in the 2017 Conference Carolinas Men’s Volleyball Tournament and will take on second-seeded King University in the tournament semifinals on Friday in Wilson, N.C hosted by Barton College.
Courtesy: Lees-McRae Athletics
MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. – The sixth-seeded Lees-McRae College men’s volleyball team fell in three sets to third-seeded Mount Olive in the opening round of the Conference Carolinas men’s volleyball tournament Tuesday night. With the loss, the Bobcats finish their 2017 season with a 10-17 record which is a nine-win improvement from last season.
Set 1: The Bobcats came out swinging in the first set as they put together their best set offensively of the match. LMC hit .417 in 24 attempts with 11 kills in the frame. Despite the stellar offense from Lees-McRae, Mount Olive answered with stellar offensive numbers of its own hitting .406 on 32 attempts with 16 kills in the stanza on its way to a 25-19 win in the first.
Set 2: Mount Olive kept things rolling in the second set as it hit a match-high .450 on 20 attempts with 12 kills. Sophomore Hector Serviat posted five of his eight kills in the second and hit .571. Serviat and the rest of the Bobcats could not keep up with the Trojans though as UMO edged LMC 25-22.
Set 3: LMC held a lead in the third at 8-7, but the Trojans then scored four straight points and never looked back as they went on to finish off the match, 25-17. A major key in the third frame was UMO’s work from the service line as it totaled a match-high six aces in the stanza.
The majority of LMC’s team is set to return next season. The team, however, will have to find a way to make up the production lost from its five seniors from this season: John Sobel, Keenan Freitas, Mark Shayka, Rudy Klaas and Dominick Hamilton.
For more information of Lees-McRae Athletics, follow us on our social media sites on Twitter (@LMCBobcats), Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics) and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics)
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