Box Score by Kevin Buczek
BELMONT, N.C.-Freshman setter Meka Hoover (Seagrove, N.C.) had a match-high 25 assists in Barton College's first Conference Carolinas contest of 2011 but host Belmont Abbey College prevailed 3-0 (25-15, 25-23, 25-19) on Friday night in the Wheeler Center.
The Crusaders improved to 5-4 overall and the Bulldogs slipped to 4-3 in the league starter for both programs. Barton will try and bounce back with two matches on Saturday in Banner Elk, N.C. Barton will first face Conference Carolinas preseason favorite Lees-McRae College at 11 a.m., before playing a neutral site tilt against UNC Pembroke at 1 p.m.
The Abbey hit .361 in the first game to roll to the 10-point win.
The Bulldogs tried to even the score taking a 15-13 lead on a junior Kati Wood (Pasadena, Md.) service ace midway through the second stanza. The Crusaders rallied to take a 22-19 edge but Barton rattled off three consecutive points to even the score. Belmont Abbey finally closed out the game with three of the final four points.
Barton opened up the third with four consecutive kills including two by Wood and one by sophomore Jordan Lee (Wilson, N.C.) and junior Shanae Winston (Wendell, N.C.). The Crusaders fought back and took control with an ensuing 8-2 rally. Belmont Abbey stayed ahead before closing out the sweep with the six-point win.
Wood led the Royal Blue and White attack with 11 kills. A trio of Bulldogs had five spikes including Lee, freshman Melissa Cochran (Knightdale, N.C.) and junior Meredith Watkins (Oxford, N.C.). Freshman libero Amanda Grandy (Rolesville, N.C.) picked up a match-high 15 digs. Wood tallied nine digs and Hoover added five digs to her 25 assists. Winston chipped in four kills and a team-high three blocks. Junior Chelsea Fleury (Camden, N.C.) had two aces.
Belmont Abbey hit .243 for the match and served up eight aces. BC was held to .150 hitting accuracy and just three aces.
Barton head coach Jim Freeman concluded, "Belmont Abbey did a really nice job of staying in system and running their offense. The Crusaders also used a strong serve to keep us out of system more than we would have liked. They've got a strong experience team."
