MOC sports wrap

By MOC Sports Information
Published in Sports on March 14, 2008 2:42 PM

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HARRISONBURG, Va. -- Pedro Penate posted a career- and school-record 25 kills as the Mount Olive men's volleyball team rallied past Division III Eastern Mennonite 30-27, 29-31, 26-30, 30-19, 15-12 on Thursday evening.

Penate broke his own school record of 23 kills, set less than two weeks ago against Warner Southern. He added a match-high 16 digs for the Trojans, who improved to 13-5 overall.

Jose Lanier provided 21 kills and five blocks in the five-set victory. The outside hitter finished with a sparkling .621 hitting percentage, recording just three errors in 29 kill attempts.

Senior setter Zach Wilson dished out 66 assists. Mike Carroll produced nine kills, five blocks and two service aces. Noel Garcia, Osvaldo Perez and Camilo Guerci contributed eight kills apiece.

Garcia and Perez collected 13 and 10 digs, respectively, on defense.

Lanier's kill clinched game one as Mount Olive scored eight of the final 11 points. Eastern Mennonite (12-10) closed out game two on Frankie Coto's kill and seized game three.

In game four, the Trojans built a 19-9 lead on a double block from Carroll and Garcia. Eastern Mennonite never threatened. Carroll and Garcia pounded out consecutive kills in the decisive fifth game to make it 14-9.

Eastern Mennonite fended off three match points before Garcia capped the come-from-behind road victory with a kill.

Mount Olive heads to New England for weekend matches against Harvard on Saturday and Lasell on Sunday.

Softball

MOUNT OLIVE -- Jenny Jackson fired her second consecutive one-hitter as Mount Olive dumped Catawba 7-0 in game two of their doubleheader Thursday evening.

Catawba benefited from several Trojan miscues and took the opener, 7-3.

Jackson (8-4) withstood a one-out, first-inning error and retired the next 12 batters she faced. Sarah VanVuskirk foiled Jackson's no-hit bid with a one-out double in the fifth. After a walk, Jackson sent the next eight batters back to the dugout. The junior right-hander finished with eight strikeouts.

Kelly Minshew's two-RBI triple capped a five-run, fourth-inning uprising.

Aubrey Reinhard and Karen Thornton each contributed an RBI hit during the surge. A Catawba error led to the fifth run.

In game one, Catawba (16-13) scored single runs in each of the first four innings to take a 4-0 lead. Mount Olive used a two-out rally in the bottom of the fourth to get on the scoreboard.

The Trojans pulled within 4-3 on Whaley's RBI single, but could get no closer. Catawba manufactured three sixth-inning runs on a passed ball, error and Callie Gordy's RBI single.

Mount Olive visits in-state Conference Carolinas rival Lees-McRae on Saturday and returns home Sunday for a doubleheader against St. Andrews.