Trojan volleyballers sweep St. Andrews

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on September 19, 2004 8:13 AM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- Heidi Busch tallied 19 kills and Anna Luft added 15 kills to lead host Mount Olive College to a 30-19, 30-22, 30-10 victory over Limestone in Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference volleyball Saturday at College Hall.

Sara Christie added 41 assists and served four of the Trojans' 10 aces.

Mount Olive (7-4 overall, 4-1 CVAC) broke an early tie in game one with a 10-2 run as Nikki Murphy served five consecutive points to give the Trojans a 15-7 lead. Busch recorded back-to-back kills to extend Mount Olive's lead to 22-12 and Limestone never got closer than six points the rest of the way. Luft recorded one of her four blocks on game point.

Limestone (5-6, 1-4) got off to a fast start in game two as Wendi Mullinax recorded a block on the first point and Jennifer Black served the first four points of the game to help stake the Saints to a 7-1 lead. Mount Olive chipped away at the lead and an ace by Ashley Napoles tied the game at 9-9. Game two saw 10 ties and three lead changes before Mount Olive broke away from a 21-21 tie.

Christie served a pair of aces and Colby Mangum had two kills during an 8-0 run as the Trojans scored nine of the final 10 points to close out the game.

Mount Olive continued its momentum in game three as Busch recorded kills on the first two points and Christie served the first nine points of the game to give the Trojans a 9-0 lead. Mount Olive built the lead to 12-1 and led by double digits the rest of the way. The Trojans scored the final six points of the game.

Sam Mitchell added 10 kills and 11 digs for Mount Olive. Murphy finished with 12 digs and two aces, while Napoles had nine digs and two aces. Meredith Overton led Limestone with nine kills. Talayna Akrie recorded 19 assists and Brittany Kitzmiller led three players in double figures with a match-high 14 digs.

Mount Olive returns to action Sunday as the Trojans play host to Anderson in CVAC action. Match time is 2 p.m. at College Hall. Limestone plays host to Queens Wednesday at 6 p.m. in a CVAC contest.

Men's soccer --

Trojans win third straight

LAURINBURG -- Warren Atkins, Reid Clewis and Cory Worrell each tallied a goal and an assist to lead regionally sixth-ranked Mount Olive College to a 3-1 victory over St. Andrews in Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference men's soccer Saturday at Laurinburg.

The win is the Trojans' third in a row and marks the best-ever start for Mount Olive men's soccer since joining NCAA Division II in 1995.

Mount Olive (6-1-0 overall, 3-0-0 CVAC) broke a scoreless tie in the 25th minute when Worrell's assist set up Clewis for a breakaway goal, Clewis's eighth goal of the season, which ranks second in the CVAC behind Worrell. The Trojans took a 1-0 lead into halftime and still held a one-goal lead when Worrell scored his conference-leading 10th goal of the season in the 61st minute. Erik Small served a short corner kick to Atkins, who found Worrell going to the goal.

St. Andrews (2-4-0, 0-3-0) cut the lead in half six minutes later as Krisstian Micoczi's goal pulled the Knights within 2-1. But Atkins added an insurance goal in the 82nd minute on an assist from Clewis off a corner kick. Chris Roush recorded two saves for the Trojans, which outshot St. Andrews 21-11.

Mount Olive's previous best record after seven games was 5-2-0 in 2000.

The Trojans have already surpassed their win total in conference play from last year and are one win away from matching last year's overall win total.

Mount Olive returns to action Wednesday as the Trojans play host to Francis Marion in non-conference action. Match time is 4 p.m. at Trojan Field.

Women's soccer --

Mount Olive ties school win record

LAURINBURG -- Melanie Cobb extended her goal-scoring streak to five consecutive matches and tied a school record with her 10th goal of the season and April Jacobs scored her first collegiate goal to give Mount Olive College a 2-0 victory over St. Andrews Saturday at Laurinburg.

With the win, the Trojans matched the school record for most wins in a season and extended their winning streak to five, also a school record.

Mount Olive (6-1-0 overall, 3-1-0 CVAC) got on the scoreboard in the 10th minute as Cobb recovered a loose ball in front of the goal to give the Trojans a 1-0 lead at the 9:29 mark. Cobb, last week's CVAC Women's Soccer Player of the Week, leads the conference in goals and points.

The score remained 1-0 at halftime as Mount Olive held St. Andrews (2-5-0, 1-2-0) to one shot in the first half. The Trojans gained some breathing room as Jacobs added an insurance goal in the 60th minute. In two collegiate matches, Jacobs has one goal and two assists.

Mount Olive outshot St. Andrews 28-2. Goalkeeper Heather Ressler recorded one save for her third shutout of the season and her first in conference play. Meredith Yager recorded 13 saves for St. Andrews.

The Trojans reached the six-win mark three times in the first nine seasons of women's soccer at Mount Olive, most recently in 2001. Cobb's 10 goals tie the mark set by Leann Young in 2001 and her 22 points eclipses Young's record, also set in 2001.

Mount Olive is off until Saturday when the Trojans play host to Erskine in a CVAC match-up. Match time is 1 p.m. at Trojan Field.