Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 by Kevin Buczek
BELMONT, N.C.-After being swept by host Belmont Abbey College in a Conference Carolinas match, the Barton College men's volleyball team earned its first victory of the season by defeating non-conference Emmanuel College (Ga.) in the Wheeler Center on Tuesday night.
The Bulldogs departed on a snowy night in North Carolina with a 1-2 overall record. Barton will host its first two home matches this coming weekend entertaining Erskine College on Friday, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. and Limestone College on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 2 p.m.
Freshman setter Federico Pagliara was one dig shy of two double-doubles for the Bulldogs. Pagliara notched 28 assists and nine digs in BC's loss to the Crusaders and then tallied 33 assists and 10 digs against the Lions. Junior libero Michael McMahon reached the 10-plus digs plateau in both contests and junior middle blocker Ladislav Lelkes totaled a staggering 13 solo blocks. Offensively, junior Zach McCalla totaled 23 kills and freshman Chad Stanback Jr. logged 21 spikes in seven sets.
Belmont Abbey College 3, Barton College 0
The Crusaders gutted out wins in extended second and third sets to secure the league sweep of the Bulldogs by set scores of 25-21, 28-26 and 26-24. Belmont Abbey finished the day 1-4 overall and 1-1 in the conference after losing to Emmanuel in four sets in the tri-match nightcap. Barton slipped to 0-2 in league play.
Junior Brandon Kimbrell and sophomore Evan Young led a Crusader attack with nine and eight kills, respectively. The Abbey finished with a .139 hitting percentage while holding the Bulldogs to a mark of .019.
McCalla nearly had half of Barton's 32 kills with 15 spikes. Freshman Jonathan Novoa-Miralles chipped in eight kills.
Barton kept each set close by finishing with a 42-33 dig advantage and making 12 team blocks in just three frames. McMahon lifted up a match-high 12 digs while Novoa-Miralles added 10. Lelkes was a force on the Bulldogs front-row defense with a career-high seven solo blocks and junior Tanner Medina had three solo blocks.
The Bulldogs rallied from a 17-11 deficit to tie the opening set up at 20-all with a 9-3 run that featured a tying kill by Novoa-Miralles. However, Belmont Abbey regained the lead by winning the next three points before squeaking out the four-point win.
Barton served for a chance to tie the match up at 26-25 but the errant launch tied the middle stanza for a 14th and final time. An ensuing block by sophomore Derek Sullivan put the hosts ahead before a BC hitting error ended the period.
The Royal Blue and White once again served for set point in the third at 24-23 but the Crusaders responded the same way with the next three points to rally for the win.
Barton College 3, Emmanuel College 1
The Bulldogs got in the win column less than two-hours later with a 25-23, 25-14, 16-25, 25-22 conquest of Emmanuel.
Stanback ripped a season-high 13 kills; Pagliara logged his first double-double; McMahon provided a season-high 16 digs and Lelkes made a match-high six solo blocks as Barton made a statement with an impressive win over a Lions squad that went on defeat Belmont Abbey after the match. Emmanuel began its season 1-1 in the tri-match.
Freshman Ryck Webb made his collegiate debut with a match-high 20 kills but Barton was still able to hold the Lions to just a .018 hitting percentage.
Barton held a slim lead for most of the first set but found itself tied at 22-up late in the frame before winning three of the last four points to secure the opening win. Lelkes secured the triumph for the Bulldogs with a block and a kill on points 24 and 25.
The Bulldogs hit .227 and made five of their 11 team blocks in the second set to roll to an 11-point win. Medina had three spikes on three swings in the period.
Emmanuel doubled up Barton, 10-5, early in the third set and held on to extend the match. The Bulldogs committed eight hitting errors and allowed the Lions to hit a match-best .148 in dropping the third by nine points.
BC finished off the victory with clutch play in a fourth set that proved to be the closest game of the match. The Bulldogs trailed as late as 19-18 before an EC hitting error tied the set for a 10th time at 19-all. The point started a 5-0 run for Barton that was highlighted by a Medina block and a McCalla kill. The Bulldogs maintained the late lead and a service error by the Lions ended play.
McCalla and Lelkes followed Stanback's 13 kills with eight and seven spikes, respectively. McCalla, who had a pair of aces in each match, also produced three solo blocks.
