Pickle Classic: A-to-Z

Published in Sports on November 19, 2004 1:55 PM

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Everything you wanted to know about the Pickle Classic from A-to-Z:

A) ALUMNI WEEKEND takes place Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Mount Olive College as part of the 39th Annual Pickle Classic.

B) BLUEFIELD STATE COLLEGE is one of the teams competing in the 39th Annual Pickle Classic.

C) COLLEGE HALL is the site of the 39th Annual Pickle Classic.

D) DUNKS: Baskets scored when a player grasps the rim while slamming the ball through the net. Expect to see a few dunks this weekend at the Pickle Classic.

E) EXCHANGE OF ROLES for one day between Mount Olive College President Dr. J. William Byrd and student Marshall Carter during Spirit Week.

F) FOUR consecutive Pickle Classic championships won by Mount Olive.

G) GREENE, Janson: Named Most Valuable Player of last year's Pickle Classic.

H) HOLLOWAY, Sharome; HORTON, Maurice: Current Trojan players named to previous All-Pickle Classic Teams.

I) INDIANS: Nickname of Pickle Classic participant Newberry College.

J) JUMP SHOTS: Along with dunks, another type of shot you'll see this weekend during the Pickle Classic.

K) KIRSTEN ELROD, reigning Miss North Carolina, was a special guest at the Mount Olive College pep rally Thursday.

L) LEES-MCRAE COLLEGE is one of the teams participating in the 39th Annual Pickle Classic.

M) MOUNT OLIVE COLLEGE is the host of the 39th Annual Pickle Classic.

N) NEXT YEAR, Mount Olive plays host to the 40th Annual Pickle Classic

O) OPENING TIP: 6 p.m. (Lees-McRae vs. Newberry) and 8 p.m. (Mount Olive vs. Bluefield State) tonight, 4:30 p.m. (Consolation Game) and 6:30 p.m.

(Championship Game) Saturday.

P) PICKLE CLASSIC is what's taking place this weekend at Mount Olive College.

Q) QUEENS UNIVERSITY OF CHARLOTTE: A CVAC school that has never participated in the Pickle Classic

R) REFEREES: The gentlemen in the striped shirts who officiate the games.

S) SOCCER TEAMS: Mount Olive College men's and women's soccer teams, which both won CVAC championships this season, will be honored during the Pickle Classic.

T) TICKETS are $8 per day and are available at the door

U) USC-AIKEN is the last team other than Mount Olive to win the Pickle Classic (1999).

V) VICTORY: What each of the four Pickle Classic teams hope for this weekend.

W) WWW.MOC.EDU/ATHLETICS: Website where you can find information on Mount Olive College Athletics, including the Pickle Classic. (Use lowercase when typing the address.)

X) XYLOPHONE may or may not be one of the instruments used by the Spring Creek High School Band when they're performing at the 39th Annual Pickle Classic.

Y) YOU should be at the 39th Annual Pickle Classic

Z) ZERO-ZERO: The score of each game before tip-off.

Trojan volleyball

falls to Indiana, Pa. in NCAA regionals

MOC Sports Information

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. -- In game one between Mount Olive and Indiana (Pa.) University, it was hard to tell which team was making its fifth NCAA volleyball postseason appearance and which team had never been there before. By the end of game one, experience had won out.

Heidi Busch recorded 16 kills and two aces, but it wasn't enough as sixth-seeded Mount Olive fell to No. 3 Indiana (Pa.) 30-28, 30-20, 30-25 in the first round of the Atlantic Regional in the 2004 NCAA Division II women's volleyball tournament at Lock Haven University.

Mount Olive was making its first-ever appearance in the volleyball championship.

Mount Olive (24-13) jumped out to an early five-point lead in game one as Busch accounted for four of the Trojans' first six points with two kills and back-to-back service aces. Busch was making her first start since suffering an ankle injury 10 days ago.

"It was a little frustrating because I was going at only 75 percent," said Busch. "But it did feel good when I got those first kills under my belt."

Mount Olive led 15-9 when Indiana spent its first timeout and still held a six-point lead until back-to-back kills by Brittany Gates cut the Trojans' lead to 21-18. After a Mount Olive timeout, the Trojans built the lead back to five as Sam Mitchell recorded a pair of kills and Sara Christie caught Indiana off guard with a tip into an open floor to give the Trojans a 27-22 lead.

"In that first game, I thought we played with the best intensity we had played with all season," said Mitchell, who finished with 10 kills and three blocks.

But Indiana (27-10) rallied with four unanswered points to cut the lead to one. After an Indiana service error gave the Trojans a 28-26 lead, a pair of kills and a block by Brittany Gates capped an 8-1 run as Indiana took game one.

In game two, Anna Luft's kill cut a four-point Mount Olive deficit down to two, but Indiana went on a 10-2 run to take an 18-8 lead. Indiana led by as many as 11 points and the Trojans never got any closer than nine points the rest of the game.

Mount Olive jumped out to a quick start in game three as a double block by Luft and Candice Collins capped a run of four unanswered points and gave the Trojans a 6-2 lead. Indiana then scored the next four points to ignite a 15-2 run and give the Indians the lead for good.

Indiana built the lead to as many as 12 points before the Trojans made a late rally as three kills by Mitchell and two aces by Christie helped pull Mount Olive within 29-25. But Trisha Gerus landed a kill on match point to end Mount Olive's season and move Indiana into the regional semifinals.

"The girls played very hard, but it was tough coming back after that first game," said Trojan first-year head coach Oleksandr "Sasha" Gutor. "The team did play better in the third game."

Luft and Colby Mangum recorded three blocks apiece for the Trojans, while Christie finished with 34 assists. Indiana was led by Gates with 17 kills and five blocks, while Michelle Jones added 10 kills.

"Indiana's a consistent team and plays smart," said Mitchell. "You can't make mistakes against them because they'll capitalize."

While Thursday's result wasn't what the Trojans had hoped for, Coach Gutor and his players were proud of the team's accomplishments this season.

"I'm pleased with how the team did this season," said Gutor. "The girls worked very hard this year and now they'll be ready to take it to the next level."

"We got over a few humps this season," said Busch. "We got a win over Lees-McRae and we made it to regionals for the first time in school history. The next step is to advance further in the NCAA Tournament."

"I think we've come a long way as a team this season," said Mitchell. "We know what it takes to get here. Now we need to work on improving and moving ahead to the next level."

"From an athletics director's standpoint, it's been a great fall for Mount Olive College athletics," said Director of Athletics Dr. Mac Cassell, who is stepping down as AD at the end of the school year to teach full time. "We've won two conference championships (men's and women's soccer) and now our volleyball team has made an appearance in an NCAA championship tournament.

"The team battled hard as they've made the transition to a new system. I'm very proud of Coach Gutor and the girls and all of their accomplishments."

MOC Sports Information