Box Score by Benny Benton
DUE WEST, S.C. – For the third year in a row, the Barton College women's volleyball season has come to an end at the hands of Erskine College.
The Flying Fleet (18-9) downed the Lady Bulldogs (9-18) in straight sets, 25-15, 28-26, 25-15, in the Conference Carolinas Tournament quarterfinals Tuesday night in Belk Arena.
Senior Melissa Cochran and sophomore Shae Schmidt each had eight kills in a losing cause for Barton, and senior Amanda Grandy produced a match-high 17 digs.
The second set was closely contested, with 10 ties and four lead changes. Leading 20-19, Erskine won four of the next five points to reach set point leading 24-20. However, Barton, the No. 4 seed from the North Division, used two kills by Cochran as part of a four-point rally to tie at 24-all. The Lady Bulldogs claimed a set point of their own at 25-24, on a ball handling error by the Fleet, but Erskine's Marissa Greenough produced a kill to tie the match and eventually won 28-26.
Barton jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead in the first set, but Erskine, the No. 1 seed from the South Division, stormed back to tie the match at 9-all and quickly moved ahead. The Fleet hit .333 in the frame, led by Catherine McAllister, who had five kills without an error.
Greenough had five kills for Erskine in the second set, but Barton stayed close behind Cochran, who had six of her eight kills in the frame.
Erskine's leader, Caitlin Bullock, took over in the third frame, delivering six of her match-high 14 kills in the set to help the Fleet finish off the win. Kelly Sullivan added 11 kills in the victory for the Fleet and also had five blocks.
Barton had an equal number of kills and errors in the final set (7) for a .000 percentage, and Erskine never looked back after taking the lead at 6-5.
A total of six seniors closed out their Barton careers, five of them having been a part of three straight Conference Carolinas tournaments.
