Box Score by Benny Benton
GAFFNEY, S.C.-The Barton College women's volleyball team improved to 3-0 in Conference Carolinas on Friday night with a four-set victory (12-25, 28-26, 25-14, 26-24) over another team previously unbeaten in league play, Limestone College.
The Lady Bulldogs, now 4-5 overall, recovered from a poor first set and a late five-point deficit in set four to earn the victory in its first league road test of the year. Barton took both sets that went to tiebreakers, 28-26 in set two and 26-24 in set four.
In addition to her 19 assists as setter, freshman Amber Kelly contributed seven kills without an error while hitting a whopping .636. She also delivered 14 digs.
Junior middle blocker Melissa Cochran collected a team-high 13 kills and five blocks, and senior right-side Jordan Lee added eight kills and three blocks. Junior libero Corinna Morton produced a match-high 20 digs, and freshman right-side Alex Ward added 18 digs.
Limestone, which slipped to 4-7 overall and 2-1 in the conference, was paced by a match-high 15 kills from sophomore Jessica Onken. Sophomore Regan Youngs added 11 kills, and senior libero Rebecca Kerrison contributed 17 digs.
Barton struggled in the first set with serve and attack reception, leaving the Lady Bulldogs unable to set up any offense. Up 8-7 in the frame, Limestone's Erin Courtenay collected a kill and then rolled off three aces in a span of four straight points that put the Saints in front 13-7. From there, it only got worse for Barton, which only produced six kills in the entire first set.
The struggles continued into the beginning of set two, as the Saints rolled out to a 9-2 start and appeared ready to run away with the match. But the Lady Bulldogs settled at that point and slowly began climbing back into the contest.
Trailing by four at 12-8, a service error gave Barton a side out down three, and Morton served the next six points to put the Lady Bulldogs in front for the first time in the set. Jillian Sherman had two kills, and Kaitlyn Micol and Lee each added one during the run.
After five ties left the two sides knotted at 18-all, Barton went on a four-point run using kills by Kelly and Micol along with two Saints attack errors. However, Limestone roared back with a 6-2 run of its own to tie the match again at 24-all. Cochran and Limestone's Judy Slow traded kills to push the score to 25-all, then a block by Cochran and Kelly put Barton up 26-25. A kill by Onken tied the match once more at 26-all, but Cochran delivered consecutive kills to close out the set for the Lady Bulldogs.
Limestone quickly ran out to a 6-2 lead in set three, but a Sherman kill gave Barton possession, and Amanda Grandy would serve the next seven points for the Lady Bulldogs as they moved in front. The spurt included a pair of blocks by Cochran, a kill by Micol and an ace from Grandy.
Trailing by four at 11-7, Limestone earned three straight points to close within one, but a Ginny Howard kill gave Barton possession, and the Lady Bulldogs rolled off four straight points with Kelly on the service line, three coming on consecutive errors by the Saints. Limestone, which had hit .237 in winning the opening set, turned in a negative .200 in its shaky third frame.
In the fourth set, Barton led 7-3 after a Micol kill and seemed to be in control of things. But Onken delivered a kill to get the Saints within three at 11-8, and Limestone rolled off six straight points to take the lead, 14-11. Youngs had a pair of kills in the run, and Barton helped out with three attack errors.
Limestone gradually increased its advantage to as many as five points at 21-16, and still held that margin at 22-17. However, a Saints service error gave Barton possession, and consecutive attack errors by Limestone let the lead slip down to two, 22-20. The Saints called a timeout, but another error pulled Barton within one, and a kill by Kelly tied the match at 22-all. Ward then produced an ace to put Barton back in front, 23-22.
Limestone tied the match back at 23-all and regained possession following a Barton attack error, and a kill by Youngs gave the Saints a set point at 24-23. However, consecutive errors by Limestone put the Lady Bulldogs on match point, and Grandy finished it off for Barton with a service ace.
The victory was the first by Barton over Limestone since 2010. The Lady Bulldogs will attempt to move to 4-0 in the league with another win on Saturday at Converse. Match time is 2 p.m. in Spartanburg, S.C.
