Santos, Hernandez Lead Comeback as Cobras Take Down Mount Olive Again

MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. - The Coker College men's volleyball team took down Mount Olive 3-2 in five sets for the second time this season on Wednesday (Feb. 20) night.

The first set was tightly contested until the Cobras went on a 5-0 run, highlighted by a pair of kills and a block by Joao Victor Santos that gave them a 21-19 advantage. The Trojans would fight back though, as they grabbed the next six points to take the first set. Mount Olive jumped out in front early in the second set and never looked back, taking the set 25-16 to give them a two-set advantage.

When it looked like the Trojans would run away with the match Coker did what they do best and fought back, determined to work their way back into contention just like they did in the first meeting. The Cobras came out of the gate firing, pulling out to a 21-13 lead in the third set to force a timeout from the hosts. Coming out of the timeout the Trojans were showed new life and rallied off a 9-2 run to cut the Coker lead to just one. Just as Mount Olive seemed to be back in it Shaun Kampshoff and Santos slammed the door shut and the Cobras took the third set 25-23.

In the fourth set Coker came out on the front foot once again and opened up to an 11-4 advantage early in the set. Mount Olive was able to cut the deficit to as little as two before the Cobras rattled off a 6-2 run to force a fifth set.

Both squads battled it out to open the fifth and deciding set and when the teams switched sides the Cobras held an 8-6 advantage. Coker pulled ahead 11-7 but once the Trojans would not go down without a fight and took four consecutive points to cut the Coker lead back to one before they closed out the hosts for a 15-11 fifth set victory.

Santos led the Cobras with 21 kills and Manuel Hernandez also hit double figures with 16 kills in the win. Max Kuntz tallied eight kills and also added six total blocks. Kampshoff notched six kills while Parker Oldham added a pair of kills. Brandon Ravello dished out 47 assists and added a kill on the night. Seth Miller and Gabriel Castro recorded five and two digs, respectively, while splitting time at libero.

The Cobras will be back in action on Friday (Feb. 22) when they travel to Erskine for a game starting at 7:00 PM.