MOC sports briefs

Published in Sports on November 10, 2004 1:55 PM

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Mount Olive gets first-ever women's soccer poll spot

MOUNT OLIVE -- Mount Olive capped its best season in school history and the greatest single-season turnaround in NCAA Division II women's soccer history with its first-ever regional ranking, tying at No. 10 in the final regular season NSCAA/Adidas Division II women's soccer Southeast Region poll.

The poll was released Tuesday.

Mount Olive won its first-ever Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference women's soccer championship over the weekend, defeating Lees-McRae 3-1 Saturday in the title game.

Sophomore forward Melanie Cobb, who surpassed both the school individual and team single-season scoring record with 28 goals, was named most valuable player of the tournament after scoring four goals in three tournament games.

Gina Dos Santos scored two goals in the championship game to become the second 20-goal scorer in Mount Olive women's soccer history.

Mount Olive posted a record of 20-3 overall and 8-2 in the CVAC this season after going 3-15 overall and 0-11 a year ago. The Trojans recorded a turnaround of 141/2 games to set an NCAA Division II record for the most improved team, beating the previous record of 111/2 games set by Metro State (Colo.) in 2002.

Trojan men's soccer ends season with No. 4 region ranking

MOUNT OLIVE -- Mount Olive ends its 2004 season tied at No. 4 in the final regular season NSCAA/Adidas men's soccer NCAA II Southeast Regional rankings announced Tuesday.

The Trojans, who have spent 10 consecutive weeks in the top 10, finish with their highest-ever regional ranking. Mount Olive narrowly missed earning one of three berths in the Southeast Regional of the NCAA Division II men's soccer championship.

Mount Olive captured its first-ever Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference Men's Soccer championship over the weekend, defeating Belmont Abbey Sunday in the title game.

Freshman goalkeeper Chris Roush was named most valuable player of the tournament after posting a 0.31 goals against average in three tournament matches. The Trojans advanced past nationally 13th-ranked Queens in the semifinal round on a penalty kick shootout after playing to a 1-1 tie through two overtimes.

UNC Pembroke is the No. 1 seed in the Southeast Regional and will face the winner of No. 2 seed Queens and No. 3 seed Clayton State.

Mount Olive finished the season 14-5-3, setting a school mark for the most wins in a season.

Busch wins third straight CVACPlayer of Week award

MOUNT OLIVE -- For the third consecutive week, Mount Olive College outside hitter Heidi Busch has been named Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference Volleyball Player of the Week, it was announced Tuesday.

Busch becomes the first volleyball athlete in the CVAC to win the award three consecutive weeks and four times in the same year since the CVAC became an NCAA II conference in 1995. Busch also won the award three times during her freshman year in 2002.

Busch, a 5-11 junior from Fort Wayne, Ind. (Concordia Lutheran HS), came within one kill of a career high and her own school record with 33 kills in a 3-1 victory over regionally 11th-ranked Barton. She added 15 digs and her 33rd kill of the match broke a 33-33 tie in game four to help seal the win and extend the Trojans' winning streak to six, all in conference play.

Busch, who ranks fifth in the nation in kills per game, has averaged 7.45 kills per game during the Trojans' winning streak and extended her own streak to 12 consecutive matches with at least 19 kills, including nine matches with 20 or more kills. She has also reached double-figures in kills in 37 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 (24-11 overall, 15-3 CVAC) is ranked No. 6 in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Poll. The Trojans finished second in the final CVAC regular season standings for the third consecutive year and enter this weekend's CVAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed. Mount Olive earned a first-round bye in the tournament, which gets underway Friday at St. Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, N.C. The Trojans open play Saturday at 11:30 a.m. against either No. 7 seed Barton or No. 10 Limestone.

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