Box Score by Kevin Buczek
ELIZABETH CITY, N.C.-The Barton College women's volleyball team used a strong attack to sweep host Elizabeth City State University by scores of 25-23, 25-23, 25-20 on Tuesday evening in RL Vaughn Arena.
The Lady Bulldogs improved to 4-2 overall by hitting .256, with a season-best 43 kills against a Vikings squad that slipped to 2-7.
Junior outside hitter Kati Wood (Pasadena, Md.) crushed a match-high 15 kills; freshman middle bocker Melissa Cochran (Knightdale, N.C.) blasted nine kills; sophomore outside hitter Jordan Lee (Wilson, N.C.) smacked seven; and junior outside hitter Meredith Watkins (Oxford, N.C.) whacked six.
The frontcourt quartet combined for 37 of the Bulldogs 43 kills while only committing five hitting errors for a combined .352 hitting percentage. Wood added 10 digs to her 15 kills for a double-double.
"We're fortunate to come away with a win," said BC head coach Jim Freeman. "ECSU played well, and it was a great environment. The crowd was very enthusiastic. We did a nice job of squeezing out points at crucial moments in the match. Kati Wood and Jordan Lee both played very efficient volleyball and we got a strong serve receive and defensive performance from our perimeter defenders."
With the score knotted at 23-23, Barton closed out the first frame with back-to-back kills from junior Chelsea Fleury (Camden, N.C.) and Wood. The score was deadlocked once again at 23-up in the second set before the Bulldogs benefited from two consecutive Viking errors to take the commanding 2-0 advantage.
Barton looked poised to sweep the match using an early 8-0 run in the third game to take a 14-6 lead but Elizabeth City State fought back to tie the score at 18-18 with a 12-4 rally. The Bulldogs remained poised and finished off the match with a 7-2 run that featured three kills by Wood including on match point.
The freshman tandem of libero Amanda Grandy (Rolesville, N.C.) and setter Meka Hoover (Seagrove, N.C.) led Barton's defensive efforts with 12 digs apiece. Hoover set up the Bulldogs high-scoring offense with a season-best 33 assists and Grandy added five assists. Junior Shanae Winston (Wendell, N.C.) served up half of Barton's four aces.
Barton begins Conference Carolinas play at Belmont Abbey College on Friday at 7 p.m.
