Garcia posts career outing against Tornado

By MOC Sports Information
Published in Sports on January 21, 2008 2:42 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- Sophomore right-side hitter Noel Garcia provided a career-best 11 kills and Mount Olive College swept King (Tenn.) 30-19, 30-16, 30-21 during the inaugural MOC Tri-Match contested at Kornegay Arena.

Pedro Penate and Osvaldo Perez supplied eight kills apiece for the Trojans, who logged a 2-0 worksheet during the three-team, round-robin event. Mike Carroll and Jose Lanier each contributed seven kills, while Carroll recorded six blocks.

Lanier, the school's all-time leader in service aces, fired three of the Trojans' seven aces during the three-set sweep. Senior Zach Wilson dished out 30 assists after a 50-assist effort in a three-set triumph over Eastern Mennonite, which entered the weekend ranked No. 10 in the CSTV/AVCA Division III top 15.

In game one against King, the Trojans took control with a 7-0 run off Penate's serve. Garcia posted seven kills during that stretch.

Perez's kill sealed game two.

The Tornado (0-2 overall) challenged Mount Olive in the decisive third game. Justin Dobson's big defensive play, a diving save on a ball out of bounds, helped King pull within seven points.

However, Mount Olive freshman Rob Felker silenced the visitors' comeback hopes with an ace on match point.

The Trojans (3-2) begin a three-match road swing Jan. 26 in Pennsylvania. They start the trip with a contest against Division III member Juniata, currently ranked No. 2 nationally. Next is an outing against St. Francis (Pa.) University and then a visit to perennial Division I power Penn State.