Follow
The defending ConfCarolinas regular season champions will travel to one of the most challenging road environments in college men’s volleyball.
Mount Olive as part of recently unveiling its 2022 regular season schedule announced it will have a two-match road non-conference series against BYU on Jan. 28-29.
This series comes two years after BYU traveled to Mount Olive for two non-conference matches. The Cougars swept the Trojans in both of those inaugural matches between the two programes as All-American outside attacker Davide Gardini had a combined 30 kills on a .634 attack percentage
Gardini is one of two starters returning for BYU after the team won the 2021 MPSF championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament finals. In addition, Gardini last season was among the national leaders with a 3.05 kills per game average and hit more than .300 for the third consecutive year.
Mount Olive ended the 2021 season winning its first ConfCarolinas regular season title in 10 years and reached the conference tournament finals.
Outside attackerTobi Azeez highlights the five starters returning for the Trojans. Azeez had a nation-best 4.58 kills per game average in 2021 en route to being named the ConfCarolinas Offensive Player of the Year and a finalist for the Division II National Player of the Year.
Both Azeez and Gardini also spent this offseason representing their countries at the FIVB Volleyball Nations League. Azeez finished with 51 kills for Australia in the international tournament, while Gardini coming off the bench had five kills for Italy.
The road series will cap off Mount Olive playing MPSF teams in four of its first five matches. Mount Olive will face Pepperdine in a two-match home series to open the 2021 season.
BYU was second in the nation averaging almost 4,000 people in attendance per home match in 2020. The Cougars also are undefeated all-time against ConfCarolinas teams and have not lost a non-conference home match since 2019.
2022 Mount Olive regular season schedule
Jan. 5 vs. Pepperdine
Jan. 6 vs. Pepperdine
Jan. 15 vs. George Mason
Jan. 28 at BYU
Jan. 29 at BYU
Feb. 4 at Ohio State
Feb. 5 at Ohio State
Feb. 11 at North Greenville
Feb. 12 at Belmont Abbey
Feb. 23 at Barton
Feb. 25 vs. King
Feb. 26 vs. Lees-McRae
March 2 vs. Queens
March 5 vs. Tusculum
March 18 at Erskine
March 19 at Emmanuel
March 25 vs. North Greenville
March 26 vs. Belmont Abbey
March 29 vs. Barton
April 1 vs. Emmanuel
April 2 vs. Erskine
April 5 at Queens
April 8 at Lees-McRae