Box Score by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C.–Junior middle blocker Melissa Cochran recorded 14 kills while hitting .419 to lead Barton College to a straight-set victory over visiting Pfeiffer University, 25-22, 25-17, 25-20, Saturday afternoon at Wilson Gym.
With the win, the Lady Bulldogs improved to 4-2 in Conference Carolinas play and 5-7 overall. The loss dropped Pfeiffer to 4-12 overall and 2-4 in the league.
Cochran, who had just one error in the match, helped Barton post a season-high .257 attack percentage. Freshman Amber Kelly hit .368 on 13 attempts, collecting five kills with just one error. Kelly also recorded seven digs.
Barton received seven kills and a season-high 15 digs for freshman Kaitlyn Micol, and five kills from junior Catherine Barber and senior Jordan Lee. Freshman Alex Ward contributed 11 digs, and Cochran chipped in four blocks and three service aces in addition to her team-high in kills. As a team, Barton had eight aces in the contest.
Pfeiffer was paced by sophomore Brianna Jones and senior Anna Vizvary, who each had 10 kills. Sophomore Emily Wall had 28 assists and a match-high 17 digs, while freshman Haley Denny added 16 digs. The Falcons played the match without senior Milana Mervosh, the team's leader in kills, who was injured last week against King.
Barton never trailed in the opening set, using a pair of Barber kills and another by Cochran to surge out to a quick 5-1 advantage. Trailing 17-12 after a Cochran ace, Pfeiffer used consecutive kills by Jones, followed by a kill and block from Wall, to pull within a single point at 17-16. However, Cochran had four of her seven first-set kills down the stretch to help Barton claim the set.
Three kills and two service aces by Micol in the first half of set two helped Barton to a 15-7 lead, and three blocks by Cochran in the second half of the frame prevented a Falcon rally as the Lady Bulldogs rolled to the 25-17 set victory.
The third set would prove much more difficult, however, as the two sides went through 10 ties and six lead changes in the frame. The last of those ties came at 17-all on a kill by Jones for Pfeiffer. A kill by Kelly, followed by a ball-handling error by the Falcons, put the Lady Bulldogs up 19-17.
A kill by Brittany Edwards kept the Barton margin at two, 21-19, and forced a Pfeiffer timeout. Following the break, a kill by Vizvary cut the Pfeiffer deficit to one at 21-20, but Barton rolled off the final four points of the match to close it out, three of those coming from kills by Cochran, Barber and Kelly.
The victory leaves Barton, now 4-2 at home, in fourth place in the league standings. Barton and Pfeiffer will play each other again in their next match, which is scheduled for Wednesday in Misenheimer, N.C.
