by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – The Barton College women's volleyball team will kick off the 2014 season this weekend with its most distant road trip of the season.
The Lady Bulldogs will make a 750-mile trek to West Palm Beach, Fla., to compete in the two-day, four-match Hyatt Place Sunshine Classic, hosted by Palm Beach Atlantic University. A total of seven NCAA Division II schools from across the country will take part in the event at the Greene Complex for Sports and Recreation.
Barton will play its first match on Friday at 12:45 p.m. against Barry University, and will return to the court at 5:45 p.m. to face Eckerd College. The Lady Bulldogs will also play at 12:45 p.m. on Saturday, this time against Quincy University, and will take part in the last match of the tournament against host PBA at 7:30 p.m.
Video for all four matches can be accessed here. Live stats will also be available for all four matches, but through different links. Those links can be found at www.BartonBulldogs.com.
Barton volleyball fans can follow the Lady Bulldogs all season through Barton's athletics web site and via social media including Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Barton College Women's Volleyball
The Lady Bulldogs were picked third in the Conference Carolinas preseason coaches' poll after returning 11 members of last year's squad that went 10-8 in league play and 14-14 overall.
Eight of those players competed in at least 75 percent of the team's sets played, including five seniors and one junior. Third-year head coach Jeff Lennox added to that experienced lineup five newcomers, several of whom are expected to contribute significantly right away.
Barton will be led by senior Melissa Cochran, an all-conference and all-state middle blocker who was Co-Freshman of the Year back in 2011. Cochran led the league and ranked among the nation's top 50 in blocks, and also ranked among the top five in the league in points per set (4.0), kills per set (3.2) and hitting percentage (.292).
The Lady Bulldogs have two experienced senior liberos, Amanda Grandy and Corinna Morton. Grandy ranked second in the league in digs per set in 2011, and Morton ranked among the top five in the conference in that category last year. Grandy has also been ranked among the top five in the league in service aces each of the past two seasons.
As a team, Barton ranked second in the conference in aces per set. In addition to Grandy's 0.49 average, the Lady Bulldogs placed three others among the league's top 20, two of whom are returning – sophomores Alex Ward (0.43) and Kaitlyn Micol (0.33). Micol was also Barton's second-leading attacker, producing 2.7 kills per set.
Barry University Women's Volleyball
The Buccaneers are a historical volleyball power with 14 NCAA Division II Tournament appearances and three national titles, most recently in 2004. However, Barry struggled to an 11-17 record last year, and has been picked seventh in the nine-team Sunshine State Conference in this season's preseason coaches' poll.
Barry returns 10 players from last year's young squad. One player to watch is senior Jayla Trombley, a transfer from the University of New Mexico who had 162 kills and 194 digs in half a season last year after being cleared to play.
Eckerd College Women's Volleyball
The Tritons posted a 20-10 record in 2013 and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament. Eckerd lost an Honorable Mention All-American from that squad, but returns two other outstanding players in senior outside hitter Ali McAlvary and senior middle blocker Katarina Milojevic. McAlvary was an AVCA All-American in 2012, and Milojevic earned All-South Region honors last year.
Eckerd was picked third in this year's SSC preseason coaches' poll, and was among the teams receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25 preseason national poll.
Quincy University Women's Volleyball
The Hawks of the Great Lakes Volley Conference (GLVC) have been tabbed to finish sixth in the eight-team GLVC West Division in the league's preseason poll. Quincy went 9-21 a season ago, but returns nine players – including all but one starter – from that squad.
Among the returners are 2012 All-GLVC member Briann Joslin, a senior who is coming back after a redshirt season. Also back are the team's top two kill-producers from last year, seniors Samantha Haegele (2.81 per set) and Carly Schmitt (2.44). Senior Sommer Holder also returns at the libero position with 1,007 career digs.
Palm Beach Atlantic University Women's Volleyball
The host Sailfish are ranked No. 25 in the AVCA Top 25 preseason national poll for NCAA Division II, and No. 1 in the National Christian College Athletic Association's Preseason Top 10.
PBA has made two straight trips to the NCAA Division II Tournament, and return four starters off of last season's 29-4 squad, including AVCA Honorable Mention All-American setter Becca Acevedo, who pushed up 11.3 assists per set last year.
