Mount Olive College sports

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on September 29, 2004 1:55 PM

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Lees-McRae snaps MOC volleyball win streak

BANNER ELK -- Lacie Smith tallied a match-high 19 kills to lead Lees-McRae to a 30-26, 30-16, 30-24 victory over Mount Olive in an NCAA Division II Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference volleyball match Tuesday at Banner Elk.

The loss snapped the Trojans' six-match winning streak.

Heidi Busch recorded 13 kills and 17 digs for Mount Olive, which fell to 12-5 overall and 8-2 in the CVAC. Nikki Murphy served a team-high three aces for the Trojans, while Sara Christie added 21 assists.

Mount Olive played most of the match without Anna Luft, who left after suffering an injury in game one.

The Trojans remain in second place in the CVAC standings, while Lees-McRae (8-6, 3-1) moves into third place.

Mount Olive heads north this weekend as the Trojans travel to Clarion, Pa., to compete in the Holiday Inn Classic, hosted by Clarion University. The Trojans face Alderson-Broaddus and Slippery Rock on Friday, then take on Marietta Saturday.

Busch earned the CVAC player of the week award announced Tuesday.

A junior outside hitter from Fort Wayne, Ind., Busch recorded at least 20 kills in each of Mount Olive's three matches last week as the Trojans posted a 3-0 record on the week and extended their winning streak to five, all in conference play.

She recorded 20 kills in a four-game win over Pfeiffer, then tallied 23 kills and 22 kills in a pair of victories over Coker. In the second match against Coker, Busch finished with a .562 hitting percentage, recording 22 kills and only four errors in 32 attempts. She has reached double figures in kills in every match this season and has recorded at least a .300 hitting percentage in each of her last eight matches.

Busch, who averaged nearly six kills per game last week, ranks eighth in the nation in kills per game. The player of the week award is the third in Busch's career. She won the award twice during her freshman year.

Cobb scores twice

FAYETTEVILLE -- Melanie Cobb scored two goals to become the Mount Olive women's soccer all-time career goal scoring leader as the Trojans won their eighth consecutive match with a 5-1 victory against Methodist in a non-conference women's soccer match Tuesday afternoon.

Cobb now has 19 career goals, including a school-record 17 this season.

Mount Olive (9-1-0) got on the scoreboard barely seven minutes into the match as Gina Dos Santos scored on an assist by Heidi Philip -- her 10th of the season.

Methodist (6-3-1) tied the match nine minutes later on Monica Gerth's goal off a corner kick.

Cobb broke the tie in the 30th minute to put the Trojans ahead to stay. Emily Escolas added a goal in the 43rd minute to give Mount Olive a 3-1 lead at halftime.

In the second half, Cobb set the Trojan women's soccer scoring record with a goal in the 63rd minute. The previous career record was 18 goals, set by Jennifer Domino from 1998-2001. Escolas closed out the scoring with her second goal of the game, marking the second consecutive game Cobb and Escolas scored two goals apiece.

Mount Olive is off until Saturday when it travels to Belmont Abbey for an NCAA Division II Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference match. Mount Olive is currently tied with Belmont Abbey for first place in the CVAC standings. Match time is noon.

Cobb grabbed the CVAC player of the week award announced Tuesday. It was the second award in three weeks for Cobb.

A sophomore forward, Cobb scored five goals in two matches last week to help the Trojans extend their school-record winning streak to seven games. She recorded her third hat trick of the season Saturday in Mount Olive's 3-2 CVAC victory over Erskine (S.C.) College, then added two goals Sunday in a 5-0 non-conference victory over Ferrum (Va.) College.

She ranks in the top 10 in the nation in goals and points per game.

Trojan men still fifth

MOUNT OLIVE -- Mount Olive gained sole possession of the No. 5 spot in this week's NSCAA/Adidas men's soccer NCAA II southeast regional rankings announced Tuesday.

The Trojans were tied at No. 5 last week with Queens, which is ranked No. 6 this week.

Mount Olive (8-1) is one of four Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference teams in this week's rankings, joining Queens, No. 7 Belmont Abbey and No. 10 Lees-McRae. UNC Pembroke remains at No. 1 in the region for the fourth consecutive week. The poll is compiled by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

Mount Olive extended its winning streak to five games Saturday with a 7-3 conference victory against Erskine (S.C.) College.

The Trojans entertain UNC Pembroke, the region's top-ranked team, at 4 p.m. today at Trojan Field.

MOC's Fairey takes 11th

WAGRAM -- Mount Olive placed eighth out of 14 teams in men's golf competition in the St. Andrews Fall Invitational at Deercroft Golf Club.

The Trojans shot a one-round total of 322, four strokes behind three teams tied for fifth. The tournament was shortened from two days to one day due to expected bad weather from Hurricane Jeanne.

Trojan freshman David Fairey finished 11th out of 73 golfers with a 76, missing a top 10 finish by one stroke. Eric Royster tied for 25th with an 80, while Chris Bitzenhofer tied for 29th with an 81. Marcus Gamme and Josh Harward each shot an 85 to tie for 47th.

St. Andrews won the team tournament with a 303. Joshua Horne of N.C. Wesleyan shot a 3-under par 69 to capture individual honors.

Mount Olive's women's team placed second out of three teams. The Trojans fired a one-round total of 367.

Eastern Wayne High School graduate Lindsey Snyder tied for third out of 17 golfers with an 82, finishing three strokes out of the lead. Kristen Freeman finished ninth with a 90, Ashley Schatzman placed 10th with a 97 and Kate Somek finished 11th with a 98. Freeman and Schatzman are also graduates of Eastern Wayne.

Newberry won the team competition with a 329. Stephanie Hemann of Newberry captured individual honors with a 7-over par 79.

MOC Sports Information