MOC sports news

Published in Sports on October 27, 2004 1:55 PM

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Trojan volleyball team knocks off No. 6 St. Andrews

MOUNT OLIVE -- Heidi Busch matched a career high and her school record with 34 kills to lead regionally seventh-ranked Mount Olive to a 30-25, 25-30, 30-28, 30-21 victory over regional No. 6 St. Andrews in an NCAA Division II Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference volleyball match Tuesday evening at College Hall.

Busch, who extended her streak of consecutive matches with at least 20 kills, narrowly missed a "30-30" performance with 26 digs, also a career high. The win is the third in a row for the Trojans and the second in as many matches over a higher-ranked team.

Mount Olive (22-11, 12-3 CVAC) fell behind 5-1 in game one as St. Andrews used a kill and an ace by Sara Smith on back-to-back points to take an early lead. The Trojans rallied to tie the game at 13-13 and Busch's kill at 15-14 put the Trojans ahead to stay.

Mount Olive built the lead to as many as five points before St. Andrews (12-9, 11-4) pulled within 25-24. But the Trojans won five of the final six points, capped by an ace on game point by Sam Mitchell.

Game two saw five ties and four lead changes before St. Andrews took the lead for good on Nickalit Bateman's kill at 19-18. Bateman and Smith shared team-high honors with 15 kills apiece. St. Andrews used a 6-1 run to take a three-point lead and Mount Olive never got any closer than two points the rest of the way as the Knights evened the match at a game apiece.

Game three was a game of momentum swings as three kills by Busch staked Mount Olive to a 5-1 lead. The Trojans built the lead to five points before St. Andrews used a 7-1 run to take its first lead at 10-9.

St. Andrews appeared to take control of the match, building the lead to 21-15. But Busch's one-handed dig kept a point alive and sparked a 10-4 run to tie the game at 25-25. After St. Andrews built the lead to 28-27, the Trojans tied the game on a kill by Colby Mangum and Busch closed out the game with back-to-back kills to put Mount Olive within a game of winning the match.

Busch had 10 kills in game three.

In game four, back-to-back aces by Candice Collins broke a 3-3 tie and the Trojans never looked back.

Mangum served two aces during a 6-0 run and Collins' kill gave Mount Olive its biggest lead at 19-8. St. Andrews never came closer than seven points the rest of the way and Anna Luft's kill at match point clinched the victory.

Busch, who ranks eighth in the nation in kills per game, recorded 34 kills against Shepherd (W. Va.) during her freshman year in the 2002 Mount Olive College Classic. She has now reached double figures in kills in 34 consecutive matches.

Luft finished with 16 kills, nine digs and five blocks for the Trojans, while Mitchell tallied nine kills and a career-high 28 digs. Mangum added eight kills, six blocks and three aces. Sara Christie recorded 61 assists.

Jessica Bewley finished with 13 kills for St. Andrews and Tirzah Armenta added 12 kills, giving the Knights four players in double figures. Kim Harper had 50 assists.

The win breaks a tie with St. Andrews in the CVAC standings and moves the Trojans into sole possession of second place, a half-game behind conference leader Lees-McRae. The win also snapped a three-match losing streak to St. Andrews, dating back to last November.

Mount Olive continues its six-match home stand Friday as the Trojans play host to Belmont Abbey in CVAC action. Match time is 6:30 p.m. at College Hall. St. Andrews plays host to Limestone Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in a CVAC matchup.

Cobb receives CVAC Player of week honors

MOUNT OLIVE -- Mount Olive College forward Melanie Cobb has been named the NCAA Division II Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference women's soccer player of the week.

The award is the third of the season for Cobb, a feat that has not been accomplished by a CVAC women's soccer player in at least eight years.

Cobb, a sophomore from Richlands, tallied four goals and three assists in two matches last week. She scored two first-half goals to break a 1-1 tie and lead Mount Olive to a 6-2 victory over Queens, the Trojans' first-ever win against Queens. Cobb added an assist on a goal in the second half to stop a Queens comeback.

She also tallied two goals and two assists in a 7-0 win over Meredith.

Cobb leads the CVAC in scoring with 24 goals and ranks in the top 10 in the nation in goals and points per game. She has nine multi-goal games so far this season.

Mount Olive (15-3, 7-2 CVAC) is assured of finishing either second or third in the conference standings and will have home-field advantage in the first round of next week's CVAC Tournament. The Trojans have had one of the top three single-season turnarounds in NCAA II women's soccer history after finishing the 2003 season with a 3-15-0 mark.

Mount Olive travels to North Carolina Wesleyan today for a non-conference match, then concludes the regular season Saturday with a conference match at Lees-McRae. The Trojans play host to a first-round match in the CVAC Tournament next Tuesday at 2 p.m.

Busch picks up

CVAC weekly award

MOUNT OLIVE -- Mount Olive College outside hitter Heidi Busch has been named the NCAA Division II Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference volleyball player of the week.

The award is the second this year for Busch and the fourth in her career. Busch also won the award twice during her freshman year in 2002.

Busch, a 5-11 junior from Fort Wayne, Ind., recorded 21 kills in each her two matches last week, including a 3-0 victory over conference leader and six-time defending conference champion Lees-McRae. The win was Mount Olive's first over Lees-McRae since the semifinal round of the 1997 CVAC Tourn-ament.

Busch also led the Trojans to a 3-0 victory against Limestone (S.C.) College.

Busch, who ranks eighth in the nation in kills per game, averaged 7.00 kills per game last week and extended her streak to six consecutive matches with at least 20 kills. She has also reached double figures in kills in 33 consecutive matches, dating back to the end of the 2003 season. Busch, the 2002 CVAC freshman of the year, is a two-time All-CVAC first team selection and last year became Mount Olive's first-ever volleyball All-American.

Mount Olive (20-11, 11-3 CVAC) is ranked in a three-way tie at No. 7 in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region poll. The Trojans entered Tuesday tied with St. Andrews for second place in the CVAC standings, one game behind Lees-McRae.

UNC reserved seats

are available

A limited number of reserved seating tickets for Mount Olive College's men's basketball game against North Carolina in Chapel Hill on November 12 are on sale in the athletics office in College Hall on the campus of Mount Olive College.

Tickets are $10 and are available on a first-come/first served basis.

Tickets can be purchased between 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday and must be purchased in person. Maximum four tickets per person. No phone calls or e-mails please.

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