Mount Olive opens Conference Carolinas play Tuesday as the Trojans travel to Laurinburg, N.C., to take on St. Andrews. Mount Olive swept the regular season series last year. Tip-off is 5:30 p.m.

For more information, contact head coach Cole Tallman at ctallman@moc.edu or assistant coach Hans Hillestad at hhillestad@moc.edu.

A raffle will be held during the weekend for a hand-made quilt crafted by Dottie Czerski, mother of Trojan softball student-athlete Allison Czerski. Tickets are $1 each and will be available at the Pickle Classic.

Softball student-athletes (l-r) Kelly Minshew, Allison Czerski and Katie Nalley pose with the quilt.

In addition to the fund-raisers, the annual 50-Inning Alumni Softball Game takes place Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Nancy Chapman Cassell Field.

Kendrick Easley scored 19 points and helped Mount Olive cut an eight-point second half deficit down to one in the final minute, but the Trojans fell to Lenoir-Rhyne 74-69 in non-conference Division II men’s basketball Monday at Hickory, N.C. The game was the season opener for both teams.

Mount Olive (0-1) trailed by six late in the game when Easley's fourth three-pointer of the game pulled the Trojans within 67-64 with 1:28 left to play. After Marcus Hodges hit a pair of free throws for Lenoir-Rhyne, Craig Hayes answered with a layup to bring the Trojans back within three with 44 seconds left.

Hodges hit 1-of-2 free throws with 36 seconds left to make it a two-possession. Easley was fouled on a three-point attempt with 19 seconds remaining and sank all three free throws to pull Mount Olive within 70-69. But Hodges hit two more free throws for Lenoir-Rhyne and a Trojan three-point attempt with 10 seconds left was off the mark.

Easley scored the first five points of the game and Mike Holloman's layup put Mount Olive on top 7-0 with 17:42 left in the first half. Easley's second three-pointer of the contest gave the Trojans a nine-point advantage with 14:02 remaining, but Lenoir-Rhyne (1-0) would limit Mount Olive to a single field goal over the next seven-plus minutes.

Will Carpenter's three-point play with 12:02 left gave Lenoir-Rhyne its first lead of the game and D.J. Blackmon scored the final five points in a 20-2 run to give the Bears a 28-19 lead with 6:48 remaining before halftime.

Baskets by Craig Hayes and Lamonte' Theus keyed a Trojan comeback and Brandon Allen's three-pointer with 32 seconds left tied the game 35-35. Blackmon hit 1-of-2 free throws with 18 seconds remaining and Lenoir-Rhyne led 36-35 at the break.

A transfer from Brunswick Community College, Theus hit a pair of three-pointers and scored all of his 10 points in the first half in his Trojan debut. Easley scored eight points in the first six minutes of the game, but sat out much of the first half after picking up his second foul with just over eight minutes remaining.

Holloman hit a three-pointer gave Mount Olive a 38-36 lead early in the second half, but Lenoir-Rhyne regained the lead on Blackmon's three-point play with 18:22 remaining and the Bears led the rest of the way. Lenoir-Rhyne built the lead to 61-53 with 7:03 left before the Trojans started to chip away.

Easley and Allen combined to hit 3-of-4 free throws and Holloman's second three-pointer of the game pulled Mount Olive within 61-59 with 4:35 left to play. Lenoir-Rhyne pushed the margin up to six, but Holloman's dunk with 1:54 remaining closed the gap to 65-61. Ja'Wan Davis hit a pair of free throws for Lenoir-Rhyne 11 seconds later before Easley keyed the Trojans' final rally.

Holloman finished with 18 points and shared game-high honors with eight rebounds. Hayes and Derek Staton added eight points apiece for the Trojans. Hayes pulled down seven rebounds, while Staton dished out a game-high six assists.

Blackmon led all players with 21 points to go with eight rebounds for Lenoir-Rhyne. Hodges finished with 18 points, including 9-for-10 from the free throw line.

Mount Olive as a team had fewer free throw attempts than Hodges by himself as the Trojans were 8-for-9 from the line. Lenoir-Rhyne was 20-for-30 from the free throw line, including 9-for-10 in the final two minutes.

Mount Olive plays host to the 44th Annual Pickle Classic Friday and Saturday at Kornegay Arena. The tournament opens Friday at 5:30 p.m. as Barton takes on Virginia Union, followed by Mount Olive against Mars Hill at 8 p.m. The Barton-Virginia Union game marks the first-ever match-up of former national champions in the history of the Pickle Classic.

Saturday, Mars Hill faces Barton at 5:30 p.m. The tournament concludes with the Trojans squaring off against Virginia Union. Tip-off is 8 p.m.

Helen Moore (pictured) recorded a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds, but a game-ending 13-4 run was the difference as Mount Olive fell to Elizabeth City State 72-67 in non-conference Division II women’s basketball Sunday at Kornegay Arena. Shequanta McGee added a career-high 18 points for the Trojans. The game was the season opener for both teams.

Mount Olive (0-1) led 63-59 after Moore’s putback with 3:18 remaining in the game. Joyce Freeman helped pull Elizabeth City State (1-0) within a point with a pair of baseline jumpers from the left corner and Kearah Jefferys’ jumper with 1:04 left to play put the Vikings ahead to stay 65-64.

Elizabeth City State extended the lead to five before McGee’s layup with 18 seconds left pulled the Trojans within 69-66. After a Viking free throw, Moore answered with a free throw for the Trojans, but a lane violation negated the second attempt and Elizabeth City State sealed the win on a layup off a length-of-the-court pass.

Mount Olive built an early double-digit lead as Helen Moore scored all of her 10 first half points in the first five minutes of the game. Shequanta McGee’s three-pointer and Moore’s putback capped a run of 15 unanswered points and gave the Trojans an 18-4 advantage with 15:01 left in the first half.

Moore sat down for the remainder of the half with her second foul and the Trojans went scoreless for nearly six minutes as Elizabeth City State chipped into the lead. Briana Glover’s basket ended a six-minute Viking scoring drought and Courtney Scott’s three-point play with 9:52 left closed the gap to 18-13.

Meaghan Vanderhorst’s three-pointer with 9:05 left in the half ended Mount Olive’s scoreless streak and Brittany Miller answered a Kenyetta Gill three-pointer with a three of her own as the Trojans built the lead back up to as many as eight points. McGee’s layup with 4:16 left gave Mount Olive a 29-22 lead, but Shaquella Johnson’s fastbreak layup highlighted a 9-0 run to put Elizabeth City State on top 31-29 with 1:10 left, the Vikings’ first lead since 4-3.

Mount Olive regained the lead on Andrea Jones’ three-pointer and McGee scored the final four points of the half as the Trojans went into the locker room with a 36-31 halftime lead. McGee led all scorers with 11 points in the first half.

The margin dwindled to one as Mount Olive was held scoreless for more than five minutes into the second half. Moore’s putback ended the drought and the Trojans took their biggest lead of the second half at 45-39 on Jones’ basket with 12:27 remaining.

Gill and Johnson then combined for all of Elizabeth City State’s next 16 points, including a 6-0 run after a three-pointer by Jones to tie the game 55-55 with 6:19 left to play. Laporsha Davis’ jumper put Mount Olive back on top and the Trojans led by as many as four points before Elizabeth City State made its final comeback.

Jones finished with 10 points in her collegiate debut, while Miller added nine points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals. Moore and McGee dished out four assists apiece.

Gill notched a double-double of her own for Elizabeth City State with 16 points and a game-high 15 rebounds to go with five assists and three blocked shots. Freeman added 15 points and eight rebounds, while Jefferys finished with 12 points. Johnson scored nine of her 11 points in the second half. Courtney Scott had five of her game-high six assists in the first half.

Elizabeth City State was 15-for-20 from the free throw line, while Mount Olive was 10-for-23. The Trojans were outrebounded 48-35.

Sunday’s contest marks the third consecutive year the visiting team has won in the series. Mount Olive won last year’s meeting 88-70 at Elizabeth City, N.C.

Mount Olive plays its second consecutive game against a CIAA opponent Thursday as the Trojans travel to Richmond, Va., to take on Virginia Union in a non-conference match-up. The Trojans defeated Virginia Union 63-57 in last year’s season opener at Kornegay Arena. Tip-off is 6 p.m.

Bartley, a 6-0 senior from Jacksonville, N.C., becomes a three-time all-conference selection, earning first team honors for the second consecutive year. Bartley is the only Conference Carolinas player to rank in the top six in the conference in kills, hitting percentage and service aces. She ranks third in the conference – and 49th in the nation – with 3.60 kills per set, second in the conference with a .318 hitting percentage and sixth with 0.41 aces per set. Bartley won Conference Carolinas Player of the Week honors the week of September 14-20.

Werling, a 5-11 senior from Purcelleville, Va., earns all-conference honors for the second straight year after garnering honorable mention last year. Werling ranks first in the conference and 19th in the nation in assists with an average of 10.70 per set. She also ranks fourth overall and first among setters in service aces per set with a 0.48 average. Werling surpassed the 50-assist mark three times during the regular season, including wins over regular season conference champion Lees-McRae and third-place Limestone.

Mote, a 5-9 senior from Miami, Fla., earns all-conference second team honors for the second year in a row. Mote ranks fifth in the conference with 3.21 kills per set. She leads the Trojans in “double-doubles” this season, notching double figures in kills and digs in eight matches. Mote reached double figures in kills in 15 of her final 19 matches, including 11 consecutive matches during one stretch. A Conference Carolinas Player of the Week winner the week of September 28-October 4, Mote recorded season-highs of 21 kills vs. St. Andrews and 15 digs vs. Limestone.

Maul, a 5-9 junior from Auerbach, Germany, earns all-conference honors in her first year at Mount Olive. A transfer from Friedrich-Schiller University in Germany, Maul broke the Trojan single-match hitting percentage record. Maul tallied 10 kills with no errors in 11 attempts for a .909 hitting percentage against Belmont Abbey. She ranks sixth in the conference with a .280 hitting percentage. Maul tallied a season-high 15 kills against Limestone.

Mount Olive posted an overall record of 13-19 in 2009 and tied for fourth in the Conference Carolinas standings with a 12-6 mark. The Trojans fell to Anderson 3-1 Tuesday in the first round of the Conference Carolinas Tournament.

Mount Olive earned its first regional ranking in eight years after a fourth-place finish in the 2009 Conference Carolinas Men’s Cross Country Championship October 23 at Charlotte, N.C. The Trojans were ranked No. 9 in the poll in each of the previous two weeks.

The Trojans finished 10th out of 23 teams at the 2009 NCAA Division II Men’s Cross Country Southeast Regional Saturday at Wingate, N.C. The final regional poll reflects the team standings at the regional.

Mount Olive is one of four Conference Carolinas teams ranked in the top 10, joining regional champion Queens, No. 4 Lees-McRae and No. 7 Erskine.

Mount Olive’s season came to an end as the fifth-seeded Trojans fell to No. 4 seed Anderson 25-23, 25-19, 23-25, 25-20 in the first round of the 2009 Conference Carolinas Women’s Volleyball Tournament Tuesday at Anderson, S.C. Mount Olive finishes the season with a record of 13-19.

Senior Racey Bartley recorded a team-high 15 kills in her final collegiate match. Tuesday’s contest was also the final career match for fellow seniors Alicia Mote, Caitlin Skislak and Joanie Werling.

Mount Olive trailed by as many as four points in the first set, but Christiane Maul’s kill broke a 17-17 tie and ignited a run of four unanswered points as the Trojans built a 21-17 advantage. Anderson called timeout and then went on an 8-2 run to take the first set.

Mount Olive fell behind 16-9 in the second set before Kailey Preece’s kill capped a rally to pull the Trojans within 17-15. Anderson (22-12) used a pair of service aces by Jamie Lancaster to help build the lead back to seven and Lancaster’s kill on set point gave the No. 4 seed a two-set lead.

Mount Olive had to play from behind for most of the third set until Alicia Mote’s ace gave the Trojans a 21-20 lead. Bartley had three kills in the Trojans’ final four points of the set to keep Mount Olive in the match.

Anderson led by as many as seven points in the fourth set, but Werling’s ace highlighted a 7-0 Mount Olive run and the Trojans went on top 16-15. But Anderson broke a 17-17 tie and led the rest of the way to win the match and advance to the semifinals.

Mote finished with nine kills and four aces for Mount Olive, while Maul added eight kills. Werling recorded 28 assists and three aces. Skislak finished with seven digs.

Lancaster led all players with 18 kills, 16 digs and five aces for Anderson. Adria Mullaney added 15 kills.

The loss marked the third consecutive year Anderson eliminated Mount Olive from the conference tournament. The two teams met in the championship match of last year’s tournament, Mount Olive falling 15-13 in the fifth set.

Mount Olive matched a season high with 13 aces as the Trojans closed out the regular season and celebrated Senior Day with a 25-12, 25-15, 25-16 victory over Converse in Conference Carolinas women’s volleyball Saturday at Kornegay Arena. Trojan seniors Racey Bartley, Alicia Mote, Caitlin Skislak and Joanie Werling were recognized during Senior Day festivities prior to the match.

Saturday’s win, along with wins by Limestone and Anderson, gives Mount Olive the No. 5 seed in the 2009 Conference Carolinas Women’s Volleyball Tournament. The Trojans will travel to No. 4 seed Anderson Tuesday in a rematch of last year's championship match.

Christiane Maul’s ace capped a 7-1 run as Mount Olive (13-18 overall, 12-6 Conference Carolinas) built its first double-digit lead of the opening set at 16-6. The lead grew to as many as 14 points.

In the second set, Converse (6-29, 2-16) rallied from a 5-1 deficit as back-to-back kills by Katherine Buehler sparked a run of four unanswered points for the Valkyries. But three Trojan aces highlighted a 7-1 run and the lead never fell below four points the rest of the set.

Mount Olive trailed early on in the third set, but a pair of kills by Maul helped put the Trojans ahead to stay.

Bartley led all players with 14 kills, while Mote added 12 kills for Mount Olive. Werling tallied match highs of 33 assists, seven digs and five aces. All six Trojan servers got in the ace column as Maul, Mote and Skislak served two aces apiece, while Bartley and Kailey Preece each had one ace.

Alaina Smith and Zahara Wiggs led Converse with five kills apiece. Wiggs also had a match-high four blocks.

Mount Olive entered the final weekend of the regular season in a three-way tie for third place with Limestone and Anderson. Mount Olive fell to Limestone Friday, while Anderson lost to Lees-McRae. Limestone clinched the No. 3 seed with a five-set win at Barton Saturday. Anderson defeated Belmont Abbey Saturday in four sets.

Mount Olive and Anderson finish the regular season tied for fourth place in the conference standings, but Anderson claims the tie-breaker by virtue of its 3-0 win over Mount Olive October 9 at Anderson, S.C.

The top eight teams in the regular season standings advance to the conference tournament and the top four seeds host first round matches Tuesday. The two highest remaining seeds play host to semifinal round matches Friday and the higher seed among the two semifinal winners hosts the championship match November 8.

This year's conference tournament is the third in a row to feature a "Trojans vs. Trojans" match-up. Mount Olive came within two points of a conference title last year, falling 15-13 in the fifth set of the 2008 championship match. The two teams also faced each other in the first round of the 2007 conference tournament.

Match time for Mount Olive’s first round contest against Anderson is 6:30 p.m. at Anderson, S.C. Mount Olive is in the same half of the bracket with top-seeded Lees-McRae and No. 8 seed St. Andrews.

Saturday’s contest was the 2009 season finale for Converse.

The Trojans compiled a team score of 268 points to finish 74 points ahead of 11th-place Georgia College and State and only nine points behind ninth-place Lenoir-Rhyne.

Kerry Maloney ran the 10k course in a time of 33:54 to finish 22nd out of 159 runners overall and ninth among 62 runners from Conference Carolinas schools. Kevin Ryan (35:23) finished 50th, Paul Hoffman (35:39) placed 58th, Ronnie Sturgill (35:41) was 59th and Chris Menjares (36:46) finished 85th to complete Mount Olive’s scoring. Rashaad Nelson (37:56) finished 106th and Chris Etienne placed 114th.

Conference Carolinas champion Queens captured the Southeast Regional title.

Mount Olive was also represented at the 2009 NCAA Division II Women’s Cross Country Southeast Regional Saturday at Wingate. Melissa Moore ran the 6k course in a time of 27:24 to finish 89th out of 162 runners, while Nikolette Lucas placed 116th with a time of 28:27. Moore has competed in the NCAA II Regional in each of her two years at Mount Olive.