HARTSVILLE, S.C. -- The Coker College men's volleyball team pulled out a thrilling five-set victory (25-23, 18-25, 20-25, 29-27, 15-11) over Mount Olive on Tuesday (Feb. 5).
Joao Victory Santos and Gabriel Castro led the way for the Cobras, posting 20 and 18 kills respectively while Brandon Ravelo dished out 53 assists on the evening.
Coker took a competitive first set 25-23, before dropping the next two. The Cobras rebounded in the fourth set, winning a dramatic 29-27 nailbiter. The Cobras fell behind 18-16, and then again at 22-21, and were facing a match point at 26-25 when they fought back thanks to a pair of kills by Santos and a kill by Brandon Ravelo.
The fifth and decisive set was all Coker. The Cobras jumped out to a quick 8-5 advantage behind a pair of kills from Manuel Hernandez. The Trojans cut the deficit to just 10-9, but another kill by Santos, and a service ace by Castro gave the Cobras the boost they needed. Santos recorded another kill and then Hernandez finished the match with a kill from Ravelo to give Coker the 3-2 victory.
Castro, Santos, and Max Kuntz all set season-highs for kills, while Ravelo set his career-high in assists.
The Cobras will be back in action on Friday (Feb. 8) when they travel to face the Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.