Box Score
by Kevin Buczek
WILSON, N.C.-Senior Kati Wood and sophomore Melissa Cochran combined for 37 kills as host Barton College held off a relentless Pfeiffer University rally in a 3-2 (25-15, 19-25, 25-17, 21-25, 15-12) Conference Carolinas women's volleyball victory on Friday night in the Dog House.
The Lady Bulldogs win coupled with a North Greenville win over Lees-McRae and a Limestone loss to King on Friday clinched a berth for Barton into the Conference Carolinas Tournament. Barton (9-16 overall, 6-9 conf.) and Pfeiffer (8-18, 5-10) could still end up tied in the league standings after Saturday's regular season finales but Barton would win the tiebreaker. Barton and Pfeiffer had the same win-loss records against every team in the league other than North Greenville (Barton won, Pfeiffer loss) and Limestone (Pfeiffer won, Barton lost), and the Bulldogs would win the tiebreaker because North Greenville will now finish ahead of Limestone in the West Division standings.
"This is a great win for our program," said Barton first year head coach Jeff Lennox. "Pfeiffer deserves a lot of credit for pushing it to a fifth set. It was awesome to see our seniors step up and take this team to the playoffs."
Wood posted her 13th double-double of the season with team-highs of 19 kills and 20 digs. Senior Meredith Watkins was big in all areas of play with 14 digs, six kills and a match-high four service aces. Senior libero Chelsea Fleury added 19 digs and six assists while classmate Sammy Jo Hinnant chipped in 2.5 points.
Barton's senior class of five including Shanae Winston will be honored before Saturday's regular season finale in the Dog House. The Lady Bulldogs entertain Queens University of Charlotte at 2 p.m.
Cochran added one solo block and four block-assists to her 18 kills for 21 points.
Pfeiffer sophomore Kelly Lancellot kept the visitors in the match with 24 points including 19 kills, 4.0 blocks, and one service ace. The Falcons defense also played well with 99 digs including a match-high 24 digs by Milana Mervosh and 22 saves by Nicole Nitu.
Barton hit a match-best .367 to coast to the 10-point in the first set. Pfeiffer was barely leading the second set, 19-18, before winning the sets final six points to square the match at 1-up. The Lady Bulldogs regained the lead with an eight-point win in the middle set before the Falcons once again rallied to square the match. The two teams were deadlocked at 18-18 in the fourth before Pfeiffer finished of the frame with a 7-3 run.
The Royal Blue and White answered in the final set by winning seven of the first eight points that featured three aces by Watkins and three kills by Wood. Pfeiffer won the next four points before a Wood kill gave BC an 8-5 lead as the two teams switched edges of the court. A Cochran spike pulled the Bulldogs to within two points of winning the match at 13-9, before the Falcons made things interesting with three consecutive wins. Cochran ended the run with another kill to set up match point before a back-row call ended the contest.
Barton – picked to finish 11th out of 12 teams in the Conference Carolinas Preseason Coaches' Poll – will be returning to the league tournament after a one-year hiatus. The Lady Bulldogs will most likely be the East No. 4 seed and will play at West No. 1 seed Erskine College in the quarterfinals on Saturday, Nov. 10.
