Box Score by John Hackney
WILSON, N.C.-Host Barton College battled Conference Carolinas unbeaten Queens University through five sets on Saturday in front of a vocal Parents' Day crowd of some 350 fans before bowing 13-25, 25-21, 13-25, 25-18, 10-15 to the Royals.
Queens improved to 9-4 overall and 4-0 in the league while Barton dropped to 5-7 overall and 1-4 in the conference.
"They are a polished team," first-year Barton head coach Jim Freeman said of Queens, "and in two of the first four games they won, they hit almost .400 and were in system offensively. We had to really work to get them scrambling so they wouldn't be as good. I just really liked how our kids competed for a young team. Learning how to sustain (that effort) is what is important."
The Royals, who were leading in the league in blocks, managed but three in the first four sets, but were stellar above the net in the deciding set with five blocks on 15 points. Sophomore 5-foot-10 middle blocker Brittney Barren finished the match with three solo blocks and three assists for the victors while junior Tori Hernandez and senior Brittany Harvey tallied three block assists each. Sophomore outside hitter Keri Kemp led the attack with 14 kills, followed by Harvey (13), junior Lindsey Everhart (12) and Barren (10). Setters Avery Moore (27) and Ashlyn Dibrell (20) combined for 47 assists and sophomore libero Jocelyn Kellinger tallied 22 digs.
In the fifth set, Queens rolled to quick 4-0 and 7-2 leads, but Barton battled back to deadlocks at 8-8, 9-9 and 10-10. However, Queens scored the next five points to take command.
"We showed a lot of heart in competing right to the end," Freeman said. "I was proud of the kids."
Junior outside hitter Kati Wood (Pasadena, Md.) led the Barton attack with 16 kills and 14 digs while 6-5 freshman middle blocker Melissa Cochran (Knightdale, N.C.) netted 12 kills, one solo block and one block assist. Junior outside hitter Meredith Watkins (Oxford, N.C.) finished with nine kills. Freshman libero Amanda Grandy (Rolesville, N.C.) notched 21 digs. Skye Square (Manassas, Va.) and Jordan Lee (Wilson, N.C.) contributed six and four block assists, respectively.
Barton entertains Chowan University in non-conference action Wednesday night at 7 and returns home next Saturday at 2 p.m. for a conference clash with Erskine.
