Box Score
by Kevin Buczek
MOUNT OLIVE, N.C.-The Barton College men's volleyball team lost its 2013 season finale at Conference Carolinas local rival Mount Olive College on Tuesday evening at Kornegay Arena.
Sophomore outside hitter Zach McCalla had a team-high six kills for the Bulldogs in the 25-16, 25-19, 25-14 setback against the regular season champion Trojans. Mount Olive (22-5 Overall, 15-1 Conf.) enters the Conference Carolinas Tournament as the top seed while Barton (3-20, 2-14) finished its second season short of qualifying for the six-team postseason tourney.
Sophomore middle blocker Tanner Medina and freshman outside hitter Cameron Hudson followed McCalla with five spikes apiece. Sophomore setter Jordan Robison chipped in four kills with his 17 assists. Hudson had a team-best eight digs while McCalla registered three combined blocks.
McCalla and Hudson finished the regular season ranked seventh and ninth, respectively, in the league averaging 3.07 and 2.83 kills per set. Robinson ranked seventh in the conference with 7.46 assists per set. Sophomore libero Nick Scalia had two digs in a two sets against MOC to finish the season ranked tied for fifth in the league with 2.27 digs per set. Medina (0.88 blocks per set) and sophomore middle blocker Ladislav Lelkes (0.85) both finished in the top-10 in the conference in blocking.
Adam Miracle led all players with 14 kills, while Angel Dache posted 10 kills for the Trojans. Tim Ebbecke tallied six blocks and a career-high four aces.
Mount Olive appeared to be on its way to a first-set rout as the Trojans scored six of the first seven points and jumped out to a 10-3 lead. Ebbecke scored four of the Trojans' first 10 points on a kill and three blocks, two with Dache. After a timeout, Barton made a run to get back in the match as Hudson's kill pulled the Bulldogs within 11-6. But Barton never drew closer than five points for the rest of the set.
Miracle opened the second set with back-to-back aces as Mount Olive raced out to another 6-1 advantage. Barton took advantage of Trojan errors, while Robison and McCalla each served an ace to pull the Bulldogs within 9-8. Mount Olive led the remainder of the set but was unable to pull away until aces by Ebbecke and Ben Casado highlighted a 6-1 run as the Trojans built a 21-16 lead. Miracle recorded two kills in the final four points as Mount Olive built a two-set lead.
The Trojans held a slim 16-13 lead in the final set after a McCalla spike but Dache sparked a 9-1 match-ending run. Dache had two kills and two aces, while Casado, Ebbecke and Miracle combined on a triple block, as the Trojans scored seven consecutive points. After a Barton side out, kills by Rivero and Miracle closed out the match.
(special thanks to Mount Olive sports information for contributing portions of the release)
