MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. – Hitting the road for its sixth consecutive match away from home, the Converse College volleyball team was unable to overcome a confident University of Mount Olive squad, falling to the Trojans on Wednesday night, 3-0.
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Converse 0, Mount Olive 3 (18-25, 30-32, 23-25)
Records: Converse (9-20, 5-8 CC), Mount Olive (7-13, 3-9 CC)
Location: Kornegay Arena, University of Mount Olive, Mount Olive, N.C.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Elizabeth Coffey led the Valkyries with a team-high 12 kills while Brittany Tepedino added 10.
- Lauren Tharrington provided the offense with 23 assists.
- Elizabeth Yohe and Tepedino anchored the defense with 19 and 13 digs, respectively.
- Converse finished with a team hitting percentage of .174 while Mount Olive hit .258.
- Ania Keene and Starr Sergent led the Trojans with 12 kills each.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set One
Mount Olive controlled the early portion of set one, taking 10 of the initial 15 points. However, Converse, powered by a steady attack game, pulled to within 16-14 midway through the opening frame.
Unfortunately, Mount Olive regained momentum and took a 1-0 match lead after ending the first set on a 9-4 run.
Set Two
The start of the second set featured a back-and-forth affair as the two sides would see nine ties and four lead changes. With the score at 16-all, Mount Olive used a crucial 6-1 run to push ahead 22-17. Converse continued to fight, but it was UMO that faced set point (24-20).
However, a service ace sandwiched in between kills from Alexis Pitts and Coffey allowed Converse to pull even at 24-all. From that point the teams traded the next 12 points. Seeing the score knotted at 30-all, UMO tallied the next two points to take a 2-0 match lead following a marathon set.
Set Three
Converse entered the third set trying to avoid a sweep, racing out to a quick 5-2 lead. The Trojans came back with a 5-2 run of its own to square the score at 7-7. A Tepedino kill allowed Converse to regain the lead at 10-9 before the Valkyries extended the advantage to 18-13.
Three in a row and seven out of nine allowed the Trojans to tie the score at 20. After the two teams exchanged the next six points, Mount Olive collected the final two points of the set to complete the sweep.
UP NEXT
Converse will return to the court on Saturday, November 9, playing host to Limestone in a pivotal Conference Carolinas match. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m.