Box Score by Kevin Buczek
MOUNT OLIVE, N.C.-Junior Meredith Watkins and Kati Wood along with freshman Melissa Cochran all had seven kills for Barton College in a 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-22) Conference Carolinas women's volleyball road loss to Mount Olive College on Tuesday evening at Kornegay Arena.
The win was the third in the last four for the Trojans, who improved to 7-10 overall and 3-6 in the conference. Erika Conner led all players with 15 kills and Carly White added 13 spikes. Mount Olive moves ahead of Barton (6-10, 2-6) in the Conference Carolinas East Division standings.
Mount Olive jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first set on the strength of Lauren Lee's ace and kills by Conner and White. Barton rallied to take its first lead at 9-8 on junior Chelsea Fleury's back row kill. But Conner's kill broke a 12-12 tie and ignited an 8-1 run as the Trojans took the lead for good.
The second set followed a similar pattern as a pair of kills by Talita Rocha gave Mount Olive an 8-3 lead, only for Barton to pull within a point. Ashlee Reuter's kill and three-point service run extended Mount Olive's lead to 20-15 and Conner served an ace on match point as the Trojans took a two-set advantage.
The Trojans led by as many as six points in the third set, but freshman Amanda Grandy's ace drew the Bulldogs even at 12-12. Dezirae Mackey's kill broke the tie and Mount Olive led the rest of the way. Reuter had a kill on match point to seal the win.
Freshman Meka Hoover finished with 25 assists and six digs, while Jordan Lee tallied three blocks and Grandy had a team-high 11 digs.
Reuter finished with eight kills and only one error in 19 attempts for a .368 hitting percentage. White had a .455 hitting percentage (three errors in 22 attempts) and Conner recorded a .324 hitting percentage (four errors in 34 attempts) as the Trojans compiled a team hitting percentage of .333. Trojan setter Charnel Austin finished with match highs of 39 assists and three aces. Defensively, Nicole Sparks led all players with 15 digs, while Lee added 14 digs. White shared match-high honors with three blocks.
Tuesday's win avenges a three-set loss against Barton September 3 in the Janet Collins Tournament at Chowan University. That match did not count in the conference standings.
Barton next plays at St. Andrews University on Friday at 7 p.m. and at Coker College Saturday at 2 p.m.
