Box Score by Kevin Buczek
WILSON, N.C.-Freshman outside hitter Kaitlyn Micol blasted a match-high 19 kills and junior libero Corinna Morton lifted up a career-high 27 digs to lead Barton College to a 3-2 Conference Carolinas women's volleyball victory over Limestone College on Tuesday evening in the Dog House.
After trading matching scores in the first four sets, the Lady Bulldogs secured the season-series sweep of the Saints with a hot-hitting fifth set that featured nine kills and no errors on 15 swings for a .600 hitting percentage. Barton won the seesaw affair by set scores of 19-25, 25-19, 14-25, 25-14, 15-9.
Barton (9-8 overall, 7-3 conf.) broke a tie with the Saints (8-11, 6-4) for sole possession of third place in the league standings as both teams begin the second half of the conference regular season.
Micol added 10 digs to her season-best 19 kills for the third double-double of her rookie season.
Junior middle blocker Melissa Cochran spiked three of her 11 kills in the decisive fifth set to reach double-digit kills for an 11th consecutive match. Cochran, who leads the league in blocking, added one solo block and six block assists.
Trailing 2-1 after the third set, junior Jillian Sherman shined for the Lady Bulldogs with seven kills and zero errors on 16 attempts for a .438 hitting percentage in just the final two frames.
Freshman setter Amber Kelly matched her season-high assist total with 40 while serving up five aces. Freshman Alex Ward added 17 digs and both Kelly and junior Amanda Grandy chipped in eight digs. Grandy also launched four aces.
The first set included eight ties and six lead changes before Limestone closed with a 7-1 run to take the initial lead. The late Saints push was aided by five Bulldog errors.
Barton answered in the second set doubling up Limestone, 12-6, on consecutive aces by Kelly before coasting to its own six-point win to even the score for the first time. BC also made four of its 10 blocks in the second.
The Saints regained the lead with their best hitting set, ripping 12 kills with a .250 hitting percentage. Limestone also held Barton to its worst offense set with only six kills and 10 errors (-.111) en route to the 11-point triumph.
The resilient Bulldogs fought back again in the fourth winning the first four points and never trailing in the 25-14 win. Sherman had four of her seven kills in the period.
Barton's home crowd witnessed six early ties in the shortened fifth set before another kill by Sherman gave the hosts an 8-7 edge as the two teams switched sides of the court. The Lady Bulldogs kept the momentum and a Morton ace and a Cochran spike finished off a 4-0 flurry that provided BC with an 11-7 advantage. Cochran then added two more late kills including one on match-point to complete the comeback.
The Lady Bulldogs improved to 5-2 at home with their third consecutive victory.
Judy Slow and Regan Youngs led the visitors with 16 and 13 kills, respectively. Both players notched double-doubles with 10 digs apiece. Elayna Meachum added her own variety of a double-double with 35 assists and 11 digs. Rebecca Kerrison had a team-high 21 digs.
Barton next plays a pair of non-conference matches in Raleigh, N.C., on Friday. The Lady Bulldogs first play CIAA- leader Chowan University at 5 p.m., and then take on host Saint Augustine's University at 7 p.m.
