by Kevin Buczek
WILSON, N.C.-The Barton College women's volleyball team will have a chance to post a winning record in league play for the season when the Lady Bulldogs conclude regular season play with a pair of Conference Carolinas road matches against Southern Wesleyan University in Central, S.C., on Friday at 7 p.m., and North Greenville University in Tigerville, S.C., on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Southern Wesleyan sports information will be providing Live Stats and Live Video for Friday's match and North Greenville University will be providing Live Video for Saturday's contest.
Barton volleyball fans can follow the Bulldogs throughout the season on BartonBulldogs.com and via social media including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Barton College Women's Volleyball
The Lady Bulldogs are coming off their most impressive win of the season. Barton knocked off Lees-McRae College in four sets on Saturday when the Bulldogs were leading the North Division of the Conference Carolinas Standings.
Barton is 9-15 overall and 7-7 in the league entering the last two matches of the regular season. The Lady Bulldogs are fourth in the North Division and will be the fourth seed out of the North no matter their results this weekend. Barton will play at South Division champion Erskine College in the quarterfinals of the Conference Carolinas Tournament on Tuesday, November 11.
Senior Melissa Cochran maintains her consistent play at the middle blocker position. Cochran ranks second in the league with 1.02 blocks per set, third with a .330 hitting percentage and eighth with 3.15 kills per set.
Sophomore Kaitlyn Micol and Shae Schmidt provide the Lady Bulldogs with 2.25 and 2.22 kills per set, respectively.
Barton is hitting .134 as a team.
Senior libero Amanda Grandy averages 4.39 digs per set (3rd in the league) and 0.43 aces per set (5th). Freshman setter Riley Bane provides 8.09 assists per set (4th) and 2.69 digs per set.
Barton will be playing Southern Wesleyan in Conference Carolinas action for the first time but the two squads did meet earlier in the season in non-conference play in the Converse Invitational. The Warriors downed the Lady Bulldogs in straight sets (25-10, 25-16, 25-23). Cochran led BC with nine kills.
The Lady Bulldogs toppled North Greenville University, 3-1, in both meetings last year. The two squads are only playing each other once this season with the return to divisional play in Conference Carolinas volleyball. Head coach Jeff Lennox is 3-0 against NGU over his first two seasons at Barton.
Southern Wesleyan University Women's Volleyball
The Warriors reached the 20 win plateau with a 3-0 league win over Converse on Wednesday. Southern Wesleyan is 20-8 overall and 11-3 in the league. SWU is tied for second place in the South Division but will not compete in the Conference Carolinas Tournament as the institution continues to work on its transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II.
Southern Wesleyan leads the league with 13.44 kills per set and has the second best hitting percentage at .245. The Warriors offense features four players averaging at least two kills per set in sophomore Sarah Hughey (3.93), senior Cherilyn Ramsey (3.05), senior Jacinta Hoffpauir (2.48) and senior Alysia Cruell (2.40).
Hughey also ranks fourth in the league with 0.92 digs per set while junior setter Megan Widener orchestrates the Warriors offense with 9.59 assists per set (third in the league).
SWU features a defense that tops the conference with 16.95 digs per set. Seven Warriors made at least two digs per set with junior Courtney O'Brien pacing the group with 3.13 digs per set.
Southern Wesleyan hit .360 in its 3-0 neutral site win over Barton in September. Hughey totaled 16 kills and Ramsey registered a double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs.
North Greenville University Women's Volleyball
The Crusaders have lost three straight matches entering the weekend and will host University of Mount Olive on Friday night before entertaining the Lady Bulldogs on Saturday. North Greenville is 16-12 overall but just 3-11 in the league.
NGU needs one win this weekend or Converse to lose one of its final two matches to secure the third and final seed from the South Division for the 2014 Conference Carolinas Tournament.
The Crusaders, who have played better at home at 9-5, are a dangerous service team that averages 2.02 aces per set. North Greenville has two of the league's top-3 threats from the service line with freshman Kelsey Shannon sitting atop the conference with 0.66 aces per set while sophomore Ashlyn Wilkinson is third with 0.56 aces per set.
Wilkinson (5.42 assists per set) is part of a two setter offense by the Crusaders along senior Elizabeth James (6.06 assists/set). NGU is hitting .180 on the campaign.
Junior Yomi Adeyeye headlines North Greenville's attack with 3.23 kills per set (seventh in the league). Seven other Crusaders average between 1-2 kills per set.
Defensively, junior Hannah Lewis (3.80 digs per set) and sophomore Rachel Burts (0.50 blocks per set) are NGU's statistical leaders.
Burt, a Third Team All-Conference honoree as a freshman, is averaging 1.87 kills per set with a stellar .327 hitting percentage.
North Greenville is 1-3 against Barton since joining the league in 2011.
