Trojans drop pair of league men's volleyball matches

By UMO Sports Information
Published in Sports on January 25, 2014 11:22 PM

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UMO Sports Information

MOUNT OLIVE -- Preseason Conference Carolinas men's volleyball favorite University of Mount Olive is off to an 0-2 start against league opposition after back-to-back losses this weekend.

Angel Dache delivered 20 kills in a 32-30, 17-25, 20-25, 20-25 loss to league-leading Erskine (S.C.) at Kornegay Arena on Saturday afternoon. Lewis Einarson posted a .706 hitting percentage with 13 kills and one error in 17 attempts.

Tyler Yanez passed out 41 assists and recorded seven digs on defense. Libero Josh Donahue collected a team-high eight digs, while first-year starter Alex Palmatier logged three blocks.

Garrett Dimm contributed seven kills. UMO had 52 kills and hit .302 as a team.

The Flying Fleet lost both meetings against the Trojans last year.

Dache and Steven Cruse posted career highs of 26 and 22 kills, respectively, in a five-set loss to Limestone on Friday. The Saints claimed match point on a ball-handling error and walked away with a 25-23, 27-29, 25-18, 21-25, 15-13 victory.

Donahue tallied 20 digs -- one short of matching the school record set by Kris Suarez.

The teams battled through 10 ties and six lead changes in the final set. UMO led 13-11 before Limestone rallied for a 13-13 tie on an unforced error and service ace.

A double block gave the Saints match point at 14-13. The ball-handling miscue closed out the Limestone win.

Dache tied Christian Rambaut for the second-highest, single-match kills total in program history. He came within two kills of matching Adam Miracle's 28 kills.

Dimm supplied a double-double with 13 kills and 11 digs. Einarson provided 11 kills. Yanez handed out 52 assists in three-plus sets, while Quaid Marin contributed 14 assists in a reserve role.

Andrew Sydow ended up with four blocks.

The Trojans (1-4 overall, 0-2 CC) return to action Friday at No. 17-ranked Penn State. UMO is the guest of Saint Francis two days later.