by Kevin Buczek
WILSON, N.C.-The Barton College women's volleyball team will begin Conference Carolinas action in the squads first two home matches of 2014 when the Lady Bulldogs host Emmanuel College and Erskine College during the College's Family Weekend.
Barton will first host the Emmanuel Lions in the Dog House on Friday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m., before entertaining the Erskine Flying Fleet on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 2 p.m.
BC sports information will be providing live stats and live video for both matches and individual links can be accessed by visiting www.BartonBulldogs.com. Barton fans can follow the Lady Bulldogs this weekend and throughout the season via social media sites including Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Barton College Women's Volleyball
The Lady Bulldogs are coming off a 2-2 performance in the Converse College Invitational last weekend. Barton (2-7 Overall) picked up its first wins of the season against the host Valkyries and St. Andrews University while losing to Southern Wesleyan University and Columbia College. Converse and Southern Wesleyan are also members of Conference Carolinas but those early season matches were considered non-conference tilts.
Barton went 10-8 in the league last season and is picked third in the conference's preseason poll.
Two weeks into the season and senior middle blocker Melissa Cochran once again finds herself amongst the league's offensive leaders ranking second in hitting (.362) and fifth in kills per set (3.48). Cochran – a Second Team All-Conference selection last year – also paces BC with 0.81 blocks per set.
The Lady Bulldogs attack that has a .125 hitting percentage has been under the direction of a freshman setter in Riley Bane, who has been averaging 7.71 assists per set (fifth in the league). Sophomore Kaitlyn Micol (2.24 kills per set) and freshman Courtney Wiseman (1.77) follow Cochran from the hitter positions.
Other statistical leaders for Barton include senior libero Amanda Grandy with 3.71 digs per set and classmate Corinna Morton with 0.44 aces per set.
BC was 7-5 at home last season.
The Lady Bulldogs will be playing Emmanuel for the first time under the guidance of third year head coach Jeff Lennox.
Barton split last year's regular season series against Erskine including a 3-1 home win on Family Weekend but the Flying Fleet got the upper hand at the end of the season knocking the Lady Bulldogs out of the Conference Carolinas Tournament in the quarterfinals for a second straight year.
Emmanuel College Women's Volleyball
The Lions are 4-4 on the early season after alternating wins and losses over their first eight contests. Emmanuel is coming off a 3-0 home win versus Truett-McConnell College.
Emmanuel is in a transition process from NAIA to NCAA Division II and is being sponsored by Conference Carolinas. The Lions are playing a full league schedule and Barton's result against the Lions will count on its league record but EC will not be eligible for league or DII postseason competition in 2014-15.
The Lions are 0-3 against teams in the Southeast Region.
Sophomore Erica Burnham (2.61 kills per set), junior Rachel Tolleson (2.47) and sophomore Cali Jones (2.25) have provided Emmanuel with three strong attack options on the front row for a squad hitting .153 on the year.
The Lions lead the league with 2.02 blocks per set and are paced by junior Danielle Sweet (1.11 blocks per set) and senior Andrea Quintanilla (0.90), who rank third and fourth individually.
Senior Sophie Windover has provided a team-best 4.04 digs per set (fourth in the league).
Sweet was All-SSAC Second Team last season and Jones earned a spot on that league's All-Freshman team a year ago.
Erskine College Women's Volleyball
The Flying Fleet are 4-5 and will try and get to .500 Friday night at University of Mount Olive before playing Barton on Saturday. This weekend's matches will conclude an 11-match road swing for Erskine.
Erskine also posted a 10-8 mark in the league last year before pulling off the minor upset last year as the fifth seed by going on the road and edging the fourth-seeded Lady Bulldogs, 3-2, in the first round of the 2013 Conference Carolinas Tournament. The Fleet are picked sixth in the preseason poll.
Senior Caitlin Bullock has earned First Team All-Conference attention each of the last two seasons and currently ranks sixth in the conference just behind Cochran with 3.35 kills per set.
Erskine is third in the league with 12.62 kills per set and has four other hitters providing a threat to opponents to go along with Bullock in Marissa Greenough (2.38), Sade Mendez (2.35), Catherine McAlister (2.03) and Kelly Sullivan (1.89). Sullivan joined Bullock as an All-Conference honoree in 2013, making the third team.
Sophomore setter Kristen Dodge orchestrates the Fleet offense with 9.85 assists per set (second in the league).
Defensively, EC is paced by Kendall Kirk's 3.94 digs per set.
The Flying Fleet are 4-1 against Barton over the last two seasons.
