Trojan teams in action this weekend

By MOC Sports Information
Published in Sports on September 29, 2006 2:20 PM

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As rivalries go in the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference, few in any sport can measure to the rivalry between the Mount Olive and Lees-McRae volleyball teams. That rivalry is renewed this evening as the Trojans play host to Lees-McRae in CVAC action. Match time is 7 p.m. at Kornegay Arena.

Mount Olive (5-8 overall, 4-5 CVAC) hope to snap a two-match losing skid after dropping a pair of four-game matches to Anderson and Limestone last weekend. The Trojans are playing their first match since Sunday.

Junior Sam Mitchell ranks second in the CVAC in kills per game with a 4.03 average and 10th in digs with a 4.06 per game average. Mitchell, whose .274 hitting percentage is the ninth-highest in the conference, remains the only player in the CVAC averaging more than four kills and four digs per game.

Senior Anna-Marie Luft is seventh in the conference with a .298 hitting percentage. Sophomore Corie Skislak ranks fourth in the CVAC in blocks with a 1.22 per game average, while freshman Joanie Werling ranks ninth in assists with an 8.80 average per game.

Senior libero Nikki Murphy is coming off her second-highest digs performance with 30 digs Sunday against Anderson.

Lees-McRae (14-6, 6-1) enters tonight's contest on a five-match winning streak after defeating Queens 3-0 Wednesday.

Mount Olive swept the regular season series last year against Lees-McRae, winning a pair of five-game matches. The win at Lees-McRae clinched the CVAC regular season title for the Trojans, but Mount Olive fell to the Bobcats 3-0 in the CVAC Tournament championship match.

Mount Olive and Lees-McRae have held the top two spots in the final regular season standings in each of the last four years. The Trojans have won three of the last four meetings against the Bobcats.

Tonight's contest is the fifth of six consecutive home matches for the Trojans.

Trojans looking

for another win

Going into Saturday's action, the Mount Olive men's soccer team hopes to continue one three-match streak and halt another three-match streak.

Mount Olive heads to Anderson, S.C., Saturday as the Trojans take on Anderson in Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference men's soccer. Match time is 3:30 p.m.

Mount Olive (6-5-0 overall, 0-3-0 CVAC) extended its winning streak to three Wednesday with a 5-0 victory over Francis Marion. Chris Varela scored two goals as the Trojans went on to score four goals before halftime to match their highest first-half scoring total this season.

Ryan Capdepon and Adam Caston added two assists apiece to pace the offense while goalkeepers Chase Smith and Bryan Stitz combined for Mount Olive's second consecutive shutout and fourth of the season.

The Trojans have allowed one goal or less in each of their six wins this season.

Anderson (4-6-0, 1-3-0) took the nation's fifth-ranked team to the wire in its last match, falling 1-0 to USC Upstate Wednesday. The lone goal was scored 52 seconds into the match.

Last year, Mount Olive was handed its first conference loss of the season at the hands of Anderson, falling 2-0 at Trojan Field. The second goal was scored on an open goal with one second left in the match.

In the last meeting at Anderson, Mount Olive scored three goals in a span of nine minutes midway through the first half as the Trojans posted a 4-1 victory. Ryan Adamski and Charles Williams scored goals for the Trojans.

After suffering only three conference losses in each of the last two seasons, Mount Olive has started this season with three consecutive losses. The Trojans' final seven regular season matches are against conference opponents.

Looking for

déjà vu

Last season, the Mount Olive women's soccer team won five of six matches to turn a 4-4 start into a 9-5 record. If the Trojans can pick up a pair of wins this weekend, it will be déjà vu all over again.

Mount Olive heads to the Upstate region of South Carolina for a pair of matches this weekend. The Trojans are in Tigerville, S.C., today at 4 p.m. to take on North Greenville in a non-conference match-up. Mount Olive travels down the road to Anderson, S.C., Saturday as the Trojans face Anderson in Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference action. Match time is 1 p.m.

After scoring 17 goals in its previous three matches, Mount Olive (7-5-0 overall, 3-1-0 CVAC) was limited to three shots Wednesday in a 1-0 loss at regionally sixth-ranked Wingate. The Trojans fought off the Wingate attack before allowing the game's lone goal in the 73rd minute.

Juniors Kate Painter (6 goals, 6 assists, 18 points) and April Jacobs (4 goals, 6 assists, 14 points) rank among the CVAC leaders in all three offensive categories. Painter and Jacobs are tied for first in the conference in assists and ranked third and fourth respectively in points.

Painter is tied for third in goals, while Jacobs joins sophomore teammates Lyndsay Brennan and Jessica Smoot in a tie for ninth.

As a team, Mount Olive ranks second in the CVAC in offense and defense. The Trojans are averaging 2.73 goals per game and have a 1.18 goals against average.

Anderson (4-6-0, 2-3-0) is coming off a 1-0 non-conference loss Thursday at North Georgia. Anderson has won two of its last three conference matches, defeating Converse and Lees-McRae.

North Greenville (3-6-0) also suffered a 1-0 loss in its last outing, falling to Lander Tuesday. The winning goal was scored in the 89th minute.

Mount Olive opened the 2005 season with a 5-0 win at North Greenville as Trojan career goal-scoring leader Gina Dos Santos tied a school record with four goals. Dos Santos has missed the last two matches due to an injury and her status is day-to-day.

The Trojans defeated Anderson 3-1 last year at Trojan Field. The previous year at Anderson, Mount Olive posted a 2-1 victory in overtime.

After starting this season at 4-0 for the first time in school history, Mount Olive suffered a four-match losing streak, then responded with three straight wins before Wednesday's loss.

MOC harriers

ready to run

The Mount Olive men's and women's cross country teams return to action Saturday as the Trojans head up the road to Greenville to compete in the ECU Invitational.

Senior Donnie Duggins was the Trojans' top men's finisher for the second consecutive meet, placing 24th out of 61 runners at the 2006 North Carolina Collegiate Cross Country Championships last Saturday. Duggins ran the 8k course in a time of exactly 32:00. Sophomore Corey Doub finished 29th with a time of 32:36. As a team, the Trojans finished seventh in the seven-team event.

On the women's side, Mount Olive placed eighth out of 10 teams. Freshman Dani Boyes was the Trojans' top finisher for the second time this season, recording a time of 23:35 to finish 27th out of 70 runners in the 5k event. Sophomore Theresa Thompson placed 35th with a time of 24:48.

Tennis teams

in Wilson

The Mount Olive men's and women's tennis teams complete their fall seasons this weekend as the Trojans compete in the ITA (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) Regionals today through Sunday at Wilson. The tournament helps establish regional and national rankings for the spring season.

The Trojans are in Wilson for the second weekend in a row and hope to have similar success after capturing a pair of doubles titles in the CVAC Individual Championships.

Lauren Harris and Kristen Jones won the Group B women's doubles title, while Bevin Hewett and Inoradeez Mitru took home the Group B men's doubles title.

Mitru also finished second in Group D singles, while Hewett and Vitor Lage posted third-place finishes in their singles groups.

The Trojans begin their spring season in February.