Box Score by Kevin Buczek
WILSON, N.C.-The Barton College men's volleyball program will entertain a pair of non-conference opponents in a tri-match in Wilson Gymnasium. The Bulldogs are scheduled to play Quincy University on Friday at 7 p.m. and Coker College on Saturday at Noon. Quincy and Coker will play each other in the Dog House on Saturday 10 a.m.
Barton sports information will provide Live Stats and Live Video for all three matches (audio may not be available for the two matches on Saturday due to other home events for BC).
Barton men's volleyball fans can follow the Bulldogs throughout the season on www.BartonBulldogs.com and via social media including Twitter and Facebook.
Barton College Men's Volleyball
The Bulldogs are coming off their second straight win, a 3-1 road win at Emmanuel College on Tuesday. Barton has won three of its last four matches to move to 5-8 overall.
Junior libero Michael McMahon continues to remain the national leader with 3.35 digs per set as of the new NCAA Division I-II statistical report (thru games Feb. 16) that was published on Monday. McMahon has reached double-figure digs in nine of 13 matches.
Junior Zach McCalla, who garnered Barton's first ever Conference Carolinas Player of the Week award last week, paces the Bulldogs with 3.36 kills per set. The freshman duo of Chad Stanback Jr. and Jonathan Novoa-Miralles follow McCalla with 2.47 and 1.94 kills per set, respectively.
Freshman setter Federico Pagliara tallies 8.21 assists per set and 1.74 digs per set. Junior middle blockers Ladislav Lelkes and Tanner Medina provide strong front-row defense with 0.94 and 0.80 blocks per set, respectively.
Barton will be playing Quincy for the first time in program history since beginning competition in 2012.
The Bulldogs lost a pair of close matches to its former Conference Carolinas foe Coker last season. The Bulldogs, who have played five 5-set matches this season, went five sets against the Cobras in Wilson before being knocked off 3-1 in Hartsville late in the season.
Quincy University Men's Volleyball
The Hawks will come to North Carolina with a 5-7 overall record after picking up a 3-1 home win against McKendree on Tuesday. Quincy – an NCAA Division II Great Lakes Valley Conference member in other sports – has struggled to a 0-4 record in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) to start the year but is 5-3 in non-conference matches.
Quincy has four starters that average a combined 10 kills per set. Sophomore Ian Lawson leads the Hawks attack with 3.10 kills per set and is followed by sophomore Jack Gamache (2.67), junior Andrew Cavanaugh (2.39) and junior John Pranger (1.89). QU has a .207 team hitting percentage.
The Hawks are a dangerous service team ranking fifth nationally at the start of the week with 1.56 aces per set. Gamache is in the top-10 nationally with 0.46 aces per set and three other Quincy servers are in the top-100.
Sophomore setter Brian Rogan averages 10.10 assists per set. Senior Brian Peth and Gamache pace the Hawks defensively with 2.41 and 1.76 digs per set, respectively.
Freshman Jarrod Kelso has taken over the Hawks primary blocking responsibilities with 0.67 blocks per set.
Coker College Men's Volleyball
The Cobras are 4-9 overall in their second season. Coker has lost five straight matches including four consecutive to former Conference Carolinas rivals Mount Olive, Belmont Abbey, Lees-McRae and Pfeiffer. Coker is now a member institution of the South Atlantic Conference and has no league affiliation in men's volleyball.
Sophomore libero Cooper Lyon was the team's MVP in the programs first season and has anchored his squad's defense once again with 2.38 digs per set that ranks 13th in NCAA Division I-II.
Coker has a .202 team hitting percentage that is set up with 9.29 assists per set by senior setter Ricardo Ferrer. Sophomore Jared Geizer (3.24), freshman Artur Cabral (2.29), junior Leshon Alexander (2.10), sophomore Luke Hansen (2.05) and freshman Francisco Cabrera (2.00) all average at least two kills per set.
Alexander averages a team-high 0.81 blocks per set.
