MOC volleyball set to open CVAC slate

Published in Sports on September 8, 2005 1:58 PM

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The Mount Olive College volleyball team opens conference play tonight as the Trojans head to Hartsville, S.C., to face Coker in a Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference match-up. Match time is 6:30 p.m.

Mount Olive (2-2 overall, 0-0 CVAC) is coming off a four-match split at last weekend's Florida Southern Classic. The Trojans handed Rollins (Fla.) its first loss of the season and capped the tournament with a 3-0 win over Franklin Pierce (N.H.).

The Trojans have three players ranked in the top 10 in the CVAC in kills per game: Senior outside hitter Heidi Busch ranks second with 3.69 kills per game, while junior middle hitter Anna Luft ranks fifth (3.23) and sophomore outside hitter Sam Mitchell ranks seventh (2.92).

Luft also ranks fourth in the CVAC with a .318 hitting percentage and 10th in service aces with a 0.38 average per game. Senior middle blocker Colby Mangum ranks third in the conference in hitting percentage (.333) and blocks per game (1.08). Senior setter Sara Christie is second in the CVAC in assists with an 11.15 per game average.

Coker (1-4 overall, 0-0 CVAC) is coming off a 3-0 loss Tuesday at Francis Marion. Tonight's match is also the conference opener for the Cobras.

The Trojans swept the series against Coker last year with the two matches played as a doubleheader at Mount Olive.

Men's soccer team

faces USC-Aiken today

The Mount Olive College men's soccer team plays its first-ever match as a nationally-ranked team tonight as the 22nd-ranked Trojans travel to Aiken, S.C., to face USC-Aiken in non-conference action. Match time is 7 p.m.

Mount Olive (3-0-0) checked in at No. 22 this week in the first regular season NSCAA/Adidas Division II Men's Soccer Top 25. The Trojans are also ranked No. 3 in the Southeast Region, their highest-ever regional ranking.

Mount Olive has outscored its first three opponents by a 15-2 margin and owns shutouts over Chowan and Newberry. The Trojans also posted a 3-2 overtime victory over regionally fourth-ranked Lander.

Leading the offense in early going are senior Reid Clewis and sophomore Bradley Carroll, who are tied for first in the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference in total goals with three apiece. Clewis, who also has two assists, leads the CVAC in points with eight. Clewis has scored a goal in four consecutive matches, going back to last year's CVAC Tournament championship game.

Defensively, sophomore goalkeeper Chris Roush ranks second in the CVAC with a 0.79 goals against average. Roush has received support from senior defender Ryan Brown and junior defenders Michael Garrett, Brandon Mills and Charles Williams.

USC-Aiken (1-3-1) is coming off a 1-0 loss Tuesday at CVAC member St. Andrews, the Pacers' second consecutive 1-0 loss and third one-goal loss of the season. All of USC-Aiken's matches have been against CVAC schools.

Tonight's match marks the first meeting between the two teams since 2002, head coach Jerry Riggs' first year at Mount Olive. The Trojans are 1-6-1 overall against USC-Aiken, which has won the last four meetings.

MOC Sports Information