Box Score by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C.–Barton's Melissa Cochran collected 11 kills and five blocks, but her effort was overshadowed by that of Belmont Abbey's Hannah Schellenberg, who delivered 21 kills in a straight-set victory (25-16, 25-23, 26-24) for the Crusaders over the Lady Bulldogs Friday night in Wilson Gym.
With the win, Belmont Abbey improved to 10-3 overall and 4-1 in Conference Carolinas. The loss dropped Barton to 4-7 overall and 3-2 in league play.
Barton held a late lead in both the second and third sets, including a set point in the last frame. But each time, Schellenberg showed why she was the league's Freshman of the Year in 2012 and a first-team all-conference selection. The outside hitter from Jacksonville, Fla., had two of her 10 second-period kills at the end of the frame, and a kill in period three with Barton holding set point.
Schellenberg hit .381 in the match, and also contributed eight digs. Caitlin Hankins added 10 kills while hitting .533, and Dani Fortunato chipped in eight kills while hitting .583. As a team, the Crusaders hit .363 for the match, including .500 in the opening set. Ana Maria Pagan contributed defensively with a match-high 20 digs.
In addition to Cochran's effort, Barton received seven kills from Kaitlyn Micol and five from Catherine Barber. Amber Kelly had 23 assists, seven digs, five blocks and four kills, and Alex Ward produced four aces, increasing her streak of consecutive matches with an ace to five.
The two teams were tied at 5-all in the first set when a Hankins kill gave Belmont Abbey possession, and consecutive attack errors by Barton followed by a Lydia Schellenberg ace put the Crusaders up 8-5.
Barton won the next point on a Brittany Edwards kill, but kills by Claire Lang and Hannah Schellenberg, an ace by Pagan and a ball-handling error by Barton put Belmont Abbey comfortably in front, 12-6. The Lady Bulldogs closed to within three at 14-11 on a Micol kill, but a spike by Lydia Schellenberg, an ace by Fortunato and an attack error by Barton put the Lady Bulldogs back down by six. Hankins had half of her 10 kills in the opening set, and the Crusaders made just two attack errors in the entire set.
The Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 6-1 advantage in set two behind a pair of Barber kills, an ace by Ward and a Cochran kill. Belmont Abbey trailed 7-3 when it went on a 5-1 run to tie the match at 8-all. Hannah Schellenberg had two of her 10 second-set kills in the spurt, and her older sister Lydia added another.
The two teams went through five ties, the last of those at 14-all, before consecutive kills by Cochran and a block by Cochran and Kelly helped Barton to a 17-14 advantage. The Lady Bulldogs still held that margin at 21-18 following a Jordan Lee kill.
Belmont Abbey closed to within one at 21-20 on a Hannah Schellenberg kill and a Barton attack error, but a kill by Cochran moved Barton within three points of the set win at 22-20. At that point, however, the Crusaders muscled their way back into the lead, recording four straight kills. Tori Jensen had the first of those four, followed by two in a row from Fortunato and the final one from Hannah Schellenberg.
Down 24-23 at that point, the Lady Bulldogs held off one set point on a solo block by Kelly, but Hannah Schellenberg finished off the set for Belmont Abbey with yet another kill.
As it had in every previous set, Barton got out to the early advantage in the third frame, taking a 4-1 lead behind an ace from Ward, a kill from Cochran and a pair of rare Belmont errors. The Barton lead wavered between two and three points for much of the first half of the set before the Lady Bulldogs pulled away.
Leading 10-8, Barton collected consecutive kills by Barber and Cochran to go up by four. The Lady Bulldogs then got consecutive blocks, the first by Cochran and Micol and the second by Cochran and Kelly, to increase their lead to six at 14-8, forcing a Belmont Abbey timeout.
Consecutive kills by Hankins and Hannah Schellenberg cut the Crusaders' deficit to 14-10, and Belmont Abbey still trailed by that margin at 16-12 when it rolled off four straight points to tie the match at 16-all. A kill by Fortunato, a block by Fortunato and Jensen, an ace by Hannah Schellenberg and a kill by Lydia Schellenberg accounted for the run.
The tie at 16-all was the first of four ties, the last one at 19-all broken by consecutive kills by Barton's Kelly and Cochran, forcing a second Belmont Abbey timeout. Hannah Schellenberg and Cochran then traded kills, leaving the Barton lead at two, 22-20.
At that point, the Crusaders used a kill from Hankins and two in a row by Fortunato to regain the lead, 23-22. But Barton answered with consecutive points of its own, a kill by Micol to tie the match at 23-all and a block by Edwards and Kelly to reach set point at 24-23.
However, Hannah Schellenberg would not let the match go another set, producing a kill to tie the match at 24-all. Jensen followed with a kill to put the Crusaders on match point, and an attack error by Barton gave Belmont Abbey the straight-set victory.
The Crusaders have won four straight matches since falling to King in their conference opener, while Barton has dropped two straight since a three-match winning streak.
The Lady Bulldogs hope to get back on track when they entertain league foe Pfeiffer University at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
