Box Score by Benny Benton
MISENHEIMER, N.C. – Barton College junior Zach McCalla and freshman Chad Stanback Jr. helped the men's volleyball team take two of the first three sets from host Pfeiffer University on Tuesday night, but the two-time defending Conference Carolinas Tournament champions roared back to claim a five-set victory over the Bulldogs, 21-25, 25-11, 15-25, 25-16, 15-12, at Merner Gym.
The Falcons (2-3, 1-1) rallied behind an unlikely source. Junior college transfer Michael Brewer, who had played just four sets in Pfeiffer's previous four matches and produced seven kills on the season, delivered four kills in his team's last nine points, 10 kills in the final two sets and 13 for the match.
Sophomore Sonny Hirini recorded a match-high 17 kills for the Falcons, with Fabio Diniz adding 12 and Kyle Landrigan chipping in 11 for the winners.
McCalla collected a team-high 15 kills for Barton (2-6, 1-4), with Stanback contributing 14. Freshman setter Federico Pagliara had 35 assists and a team-high nine digs.
Tied 4-4 in the tiebreaking set, Barton used an attack error by Hirini and a solo block by Brennan O'Connor to take a two-point advantage. The Bulldogs still led by that margin after a Stanback kill put Barton up 8-6 as the two sides switched ends of the court.
However, kills by David Specian and Brewer tied the match at 8-all. The Bulldogs took a 9-8 lead on a Brewer attack error, but Barton gave the ball right back on a service error, and then Pfeiffer ran off three straight points to take control of the match, 12-9. The second of those points came on a Barton attack error after the Pfeiffer defense kept the play alive with a terrific diving save.
The Bulldogs climbed back within two at 12-10 on a McCalla kill, but the Falcons claimed the next three points, two on kills by Brewer, to reach match point. A Stanback kill kept Barton alive briefly, but a kill by Hirini finished off Pfeiffer's fifth straight win over the Bulldogs.
Pfeiffer hit better than .400 in each of the final two sets to aid in its comeback.
Barton got off to a great start thanks to McCalla, who had seven kills without an error in nine attempts (.778) in the first set. Stanback added three more kills and O'Connor had a pair for the Bulldogs, which hit .364 in the frame.
The Bulldogs trailed 8-6 after an attack error when a Stanback kill started a 4-0 run that included a service ace and a kill from the back row by O'Connor. Barton's lead increased to three at 13-10 on a Falcon attack error, but Pfeiffer used a kill by Hirini and consecutive spikes by Landrigan to tie the match at 13-all.
The set remained close until Barton, leading 19-18, went on a 4-1 spurt that included two kills by McCalla and an ace by Ladislav Lelkes.
The second set was never in question, as Pfeiffer raced out to a 7-1 lead that included a kill and an ace by Brewer, who did not play in the first set.
Two kills by Stanback early in the third set helped Barton to a 10-5 advantage, but Pfeiffer won the next four points to pull back within one. The Bulldogs still led by a single point at 14-13 when consecutive attack errors by the Falcons started a 6-0 run for Barton, capped off by consecutive kills from O'Connor.
Pfeiffer hit for a negative percentage in the third frame (-.037), but made up for it in set four, hitting at a .429 clip while Barton had the same number of errors as kills (.000). Three Bulldog miscues in a row helped the Falcons extend a three-point advantage to 9-3. A kill by Stanback and a solo block by Lelkes cut the Barton deficit to 9-5, but Pfeiffer used kills by Landrigan, Brewer and Diniz as part of another 4-1 run that put the set away and forced the tiebreaker.
Barton will return home for a pair of league matches over the weekend. The Bulldogs will host King University on Friday at 7 p.m., and will entertain Lees-McRae College on Saturday at 2 p.m.
