Box Score by Kevin Buczek
WILSON, N.C.-Barton College trailed 8-4 when the two teams switched sides midway through the fifth set but the Bulldogs kept believing they could knock off Conference Carolinas men's volleyball frontrunner Limestone College and rallied for a dramatic 3-2 win in an electrified Dog House Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs (2-3 overall, 1-3 conf.) barked back each time they fell behind after first and third set losses to eventually complete the upset by a score of 15-25, 25-18, 18-25, 25-22 and 17-15. The Saints (5-2, 3-1) had a five-match win streak come to an end. Limestone already knocked off two-time defending Conference Carolinas Tournament champions Pfeiffer University and defending regular season champs and preseason favorite University of Mount Olive before suffering its first league loss to Barton.
"I'm really proud of the guys," Barton second year head coach Jeff Lennox said. "It was important for us to refocus after the first set and realize that we are a good team, that we have the talent and personnel to be competitive. Getting the victory proves that when we focus on ourselves, trust each other and have each other's backs, we can win any match."
Junior Zach McCalla was one dig shy of a double-double for the Bulldogs with a team-high 16 kills and nine digs. Freshman Chad Stanback Jr. and junior Ladislav Lelkes added 13 and nine spikes, respectively.
Barton lost the first set by 10 points hitting a negative .267 but then fired in the positive for the rest of the match once junior Brennan O'Connor was inserted into the lineup. O'Connor sparked the Bulldogs with eight kills and just three errors on 26 swings for a .192 hitting percentage over the final four frames. O'Connor also lifted up eight digs and was part of a Barton block late in the fifth set.
The Royal Blue and White specialists both produced season-best totals with junior libero Michael McMahon supplying 19 digs and freshman setter Federico Pagliara tallying 47 assists.
Junior middle blocker Tanner Medina also had his best match of the season as part of nine of BC's 13 team blocks.
Barton led in the early stages of the first set but 14 hitting errors allowed Limestone to coast to the early 1-nil advantage.
The Bulldogs responded by never trailing in the second set. The Saints kept things close pulling to within two at 17-15 but Barton won the next four points to maintain control before settling for the seven-point win to knot the match at 1-1.
"We controlled the ball better, especially at the net," Lennox said. "We were very undisciplined and made a lot of unforced errors early in that first set, and as the match progressed, we loosened up a bit and instead of thinking about it so much, just went out and competed. That was the biggest key for us, being a little more efficient at the net, controlling the ball better, making plays when necessary at the net offensively and at the service line."
However, the roles were reversed in the middle period with Barton holding the identical 17-15 lead it had the set before but this time Limestone fought back with a 10-1 run to regain the 2-1 match lead.
The visitors led as late as 17-16 in the fourth set and later tied the game at 21-all before the Bulldogs forced a decisive fifth set by winning four of the next five points that featured late kills by Stanback and Lelkes. BC had its best set hitting .200 with its back against the wall.
Limestone starting setter Nick Wildes was injured on the final play of the fourth set forcing head coach Brandon Skweres to replace Wildes with freshman setter Luca Wanek, who fired up the Saints with five quick assists in the fifth set as the Saints doubled up the Bulldogs 8-4 at the brief stoppage to switch ends of the court.
Barton scrapped its way back tying the shortened race to 15 at 11-11 with a 7-3 run that was capped by a pair of tandem blocks by Medina and Stanback. Limestone took its final two leads at 12-11 and 13-12 but O'Connor evened the score both times with a kill. A block by Lelkes and O'Connor provided BC with its first chance at match point but a Limestone kill by Eric Zaun extended play. Lelkes gave the Bulldogs a second chance with a kill to make the score 15-14 but a potential game-winning swing by McCalla sailed just long of the far endline. Zaun returned the favor with his own hitting error that set up Barton's third opportunity at match point. Lelkes put the ensuing serve in play before a second straight Limestone hitting error – a blast by Jon Schaefer that went too deep – ended the dramatic match in favor of the hosts.
"I'm just proud of how they stepped up," Lennox said. "They faced the adversity, they believed we could win when it mattered most, and we gave them our best when it mattered most."
Barton hit .146 in the final four sets to finish with a .065 hitting percentage.
Zaun led the Saints with 17 kills and 11 digs for a double-double. Schaefer added 14 kills while Nick Wildes supplied 30 assists in the first four sets before his match-ending injury. Libero Andrew Miller logged 17 digs and Curtis Van Grinsven participated in eight of Limestone's 12 team blocks.
Lennox concluded, "It was a 100 percent team effort. The guys who were not in the game were caring just as much and giving just as much energy as the guys on the court. I think we trust each other, we have each other's backs now… we know that we can win… we know what it feels like. It was just a complete team effort. "
Barton next visits New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in a non-conference match on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m.
