Mount Olive, N.C. – The Edinboro volleyball team went 1-1 on the opening day of the Mount Olive Invitational on Friday.
 
The Scots opened the day with a 3-2 comeback victory over the host Mount Olive and then dropped a 3-1 decision to Shaw in the night cap.
 
In the opener, Edinboro fell behind 2-0 dropping the first set 25-21 and the second 26-24. With the score tied 19-19 in the third, the Scots scored three straight points on kills from Jessica Hardin and Emma Hiott and a block by Makayla Neelands. The Trojans answered with a kill from Karoline Cox, but an Erika Lindqvist kill, and a Mount Olive attack error pushed the lead to 24-20. The Trojans trimmed the lead to 24-23, but a service error ended the set.
 
The fourth was another see-saw battle with the score tied at 18-18. Edinboro took control closing the set on a 7-1 run to take the fourth 25-19 forcing a winner-take-all fifth set. The Scots fell behind 3-0 in the fifth but rallied to take a 9-8 lead on Hardin kill. Mount Olive tied the score with a Kate Carter kill before back-to-back kills from Hardin put Edinboro up 11-9. The Trojans got as close as 12-11 but Neelands recorded kills sandwiching a Carly Pry service ace to seal the win 15-11.
 
Hardin led the offense with 21 kills and three service aces. Neelands and Lindqvist also reached double figures in kills with 14 and 11 respectively. Abigale Soboleski tallied 28 assists while Laney Burns notched 19 helpers.
 
Hardin also led the team in digs recording 16 while Neelands tallied 12. The Edinboro block was effective led by five from Casey Smith. Rita Campos notched four stuffs and Hiott added three.
 
In the second match of the night, Edinboro held a 16-15 lead in the first set over Shaw before the Bears went on an 9-4 run to make the lead 24-20. The Scots scored the next three points on a block by Hiott and Lindqvist, a Lindqvist kill and a rare libero kill by Pry, but the comeback came up just short as the Bears held on for the 25-23 win.
 
The Scots got out to a 12-8 lead in the second and didn't trail the rest of the way to level the score at a set apiece 25-22. Shaw would win the third by an identical 25-22 score in the third and then close out the match with a 25-14 victory in the fourth.
 
Neelands led the Edinboro offense with 15 kills. Hardin chipped in 11 kills and Campos checked in with 10. Soboleski notched a team-high 25 assists while Burns added 15 helpers. Hardin led the defensive effort with 13 digs.
 
The Scots are back in action on Saturday with a pair of games at the Mount Olive Invitational. They take the floor at 10 a.m. for a match with Lenior-Rhyne before closing out the tournament against Concord at 4 p.m.