Box Score by Kevin Buczek
GAFFNEY, S.C.-Junior middle blocker Ladislav Lelkes tallied seven kills and five blocks including a kill and a block on fifth-seeded Barton College's final two points as the Bulldogs knocked off fourth-seeded Limestone College, 3-0, in the quarterfinals of the 2014 Conference Carolinas Tournament at the Timken Center Wednesday night.
Barton hit .305 for the match and got a match-high 15 kills from junior outside hitter Zach McCalla to advance to the semifinals. BC will next play top-seeded Erskine College in Due West, S.C., on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Limestone finished one game ahead of the Bulldogs in the regular season standings to earn the right to host the quarterfinal match but the Saints ended their season at 16-12 after losing to Barton for time this season.
McCalla, who ranks fourth in the league in kills per set, spiked his 15 kills on 28 swings with just three errors for .429 precision. Lelkes fired at an even higher rate with seven kills on 10 attempts without a mistake for a .700 hitting percentage. Freshman Chad Stanback Jr. (.190) added 10 kills.
Freshman setter Federico Pagliara set up the hot-hitting Bulldog attack with 32 assists. Junior libero Michael McMahon, who ended the regular season as the nation's statistical leader in digs per set, lifted up eight digs for BC.
Barton also finished with a 6-4 ace advantage and an 8-1 block surplus on the Saints.
Lelkes recorded a match-high five blocks and partnered with Pagliara for the winning block on match point. Pagliara totaled three block assists.
Senior Tyler Malpass and freshman Jonathan Novoa-Miralles contributed to the well-rounded win with two aces apiece.
A pair of Stanback spikes helped Barton jump out to a 6-1 lead in the first set. BC's lead grew to as many as nine as the Bulldogs hit .429 in the stanza before coasting to the six-point win. Stanback had five of his 10 kills in the period.
Limestone attempted to tie the match by constructing an early 7-2 advantage in the middle set. The hosts continued to lead 16-13 on an Andrew Miller ace but Barton won the next six points on Novoa-Miralles' service rotation to take over. Novoa-Miralles launched his second ace of the run to give BC a three point edge, 19-16. A kill by McCalla on set point kept the visitors up by the same margin at 25-22.
McCalla drilled six kills in both the second and third sets to help Barton complete the sweep.
The Bulldogs never trailed in the third but the Saints kept the score close throughout by never falling behind by more than three points until match point. LC pulled to within one at 22-21 before BC ended the match with three straight points. Stanback and Lelkes inched the Bulldogs to within match point with consecutive kills off the Saints block before Lelkes and Pagliara came up with the winning block on the left side of the net on match point.
Jon Schaefer led Limestone with 10 kills. Nick Wildes contributed 23 assists and Andrew Miller logged eight digs.
Barton was making its postseason debut after the program missed the Conference Carolinas Tournament in its first two seasons. The Bulldogs were picked last out of eight teams in the league's preseason poll but are having a breakout season finishing .500 in the conference at 7-7.
