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Athletic News
11/03/2009 -
Trojan Rally Comes Up Short Vs. St. Andrews In Conference Carolinas Women's Volleyball
Mount Olive rallied from a two-set deficit to force a fifth set, but the Trojans fell to St. Andrews 25-13, 25-20, 21-25, 12-25, 15-6 in Conference Carolinas women’s volleyball Tuesday at Kornegay Arena. Alicia Mote led all players with 18 kills and shared match-high honors with four aces, including three in a row during the fourth set.
After dropping the first two sets, Mount Olive (12-17 overall, 11-5 Conference Carolinas) broke away from a 13-13 tie in the third set as Destiny Ma’ave-Kuewa’s ace, a diving dig by Brooke Norris and a double block by Kristin Smith and Christiane Maul keyed a 6-0 run. Back-to-back kills by Mote helped the Trojans build a 24-17 lead before St. Andrews (11-19, 5-12) fought off four set points. But an attack error ended the set and kept Mount Olive in the match.
Mount Olive used a run of seven unanswered points to jump out to a 7-1 lead in the fourth set, the last three points coming on aces by Mote. Maul helped the Trojans build the lead to double digits as her service led to a St. Andrews overpass and a kill by Bridgette Briggs, followed by an ace by Maul to extend the lead to 13-3. The margin never fell below eight points as back-to-back aces by Smith gave Mount Olive a 21-8 lead and Maul’s ace on set point sent the match to a fifth set.
The Trojans served seven of their 10 aces in the fourth set.
Mount Olive had rallied from two sets down in victories over Lees-McRae and Barton earlier this year, but the comeback would fall short Tuesday evening as St. Andrews never trailed in the fifth set. Kelly Stine had three early kills to help the Knights build a 6-2 lead. Mount Olive would not get any closer than three points and St. Andrews ended the match on a 6-0 run. Leah Davison had a block for the Knights at 13-6 and combined with Jessica Himalstein for a double block on match point.
The Trojans had a relatively inexperienced lineup on the floor with four starters not dressed due to a violation of team rules. St. Andrews took early advantage, breaking away from a one-point margin for a 14-7 lead in the first set. An ace by Davison gave the Knights a 21-11 lead and Elysia Tiegs had kills on the final two points to give St. Andrews the first set.
Mount Olive led for much of the second set before Jamie Hayes served two aces during a 10-0 run to give St. Andrews a 19-13 lead. The Trojans never got closer than five points and Heather Bolwerk’s ace gave St. Andrews a two-set lead before Mount Olive started its comeback.
Maul finished with 12 kills and four blocks for Mount Olive, while Ma’ave-Kuewa recorded a career-high 33 assists to go with two blocks. Whitney Quinn had a team-high nine digs and Alexandra Simon, who moved from libero to outside hitter for Tuesday’s match, had four kills and eight digs.
Bolwerk led St. Andrews with 11 kills, while Himalstein added 10 kills. Hayes recorded 26 assists and Courtney McDonald led the Knights defensively with a match-high 20 digs. Davison led all players with five blocks.
The loss moves Mount Olive into a three-way tie for third place in the Conference Carolinas standings with Anderson and Limestone, both of whom won Tuesday. Lees-McRae clinched the regular season title and the No. 1 seed in next week’s conference tournament with its win Tuesday, while Pfeiffer clinched second place and the No. 2 seed. St. Andrews moves to within a half-game of the eighth and final spot in the conference tournament.
The top four teams in the final regular season standings host first-round matches in the 2009 Conference Carolinas Women’s Volleyball Tournament, which gets underway next Tuesday. The highest remaining seeds host the semifinals and championship.
Mount Olive returns to action this weekend with a pair of Conference Carolinas matches at Kornegay Arena to close out the regular season. The Trojans play host to Limestone Friday at 7 p.m., then face Converse Saturday at 2 p.m. for Senior Day.