Box Score by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – The Barton College men's volleyball team collected its first win of the 2015 season on Friday night with a straight-set Conference Carolinas victory over visiting Emmanuel College, 25-16, 25-21, 25-21.
Sophomore Jonathan Novoa-Miralles produced a team-high 11 kills to lead the Bulldogs, now 1-2 overall and 1-1 in league play. Freshman setter Ben Kasun, playing in his first collegiate contest, came off the bench to contribute a match-high 15 assists. Kasun and sophomore Chad Stanback Jr. each delivered three of Barton's season-high 11 service aces.
Emmanuel, making its season debut, received a match-high 15 kills from junior Alex Barbosa. Junior Nikolas Nelson chipped in five kills and a team-high six digs.
Barton never trailed in the first and the third sets, and led from 11-10 of the second set. The Bulldogs hit a season-high .279 in the contest, including .391 in the opening frame. The Lions had an equal number of kills and errors in the first set, six, for a .000 percentage, but used a .333 final game to reach .169 for the match.
The Bulldogs took command early in set one. Leading 6-4, BC used a kill by Michael Perez, consecutive aces by Stanback and an Emmanuel attack error to comprise a 4-0 run and extend the lead to six on the way to an easy frame. Barton junior Pierre Tang-Taye had four of his five kills in the game.
Five Barton miscues to open set two helped the Lions to an early 6-5 advantage, and Barbosa had two of his five second-frame kills to help Emmanuel keep pace with the Bulldogs. The Lions took their last lead of the night at 11-10 on an ace by Nelson, but consecutive kills for Barton by Charles Hyde, Novoa-Miralles and Stanback put the Royal Blue and White in front for good at 13-11.
Barbosa won the next point with a kill for Emmanuel, closing the gap to one at 13-12, but a kill by Stanback and an ace by Novoa-Miralles started a five-point run for BC that put the Bulldogs in control. The Lions closed back within two following a Barton attack error, but a kill by Brennan O'Connor, consecutive blocks involving Perez, and a Perez kill pushed the lead back to five at 23-18.
After consecutive aces by Kasun helped Barton jump out to a 5-1 lead in set three, the Lions roared back to tie the frame at 8-all on a block by Nelson and Steven Peruyero. However, a kill by Kasun put BC back in front, and the Bulldogs led the rest of the way.
Emmanuel did close to within a point on three more occasions, the last time at 14-13, and trimmed a five-point deficit down to three at 22-19 following three Barbosa kills in a span of four points. However, the Lions committed a key service error to put the Bulldogs back up comfortably by four at 23-19.
Barbosa had nine kills in the final set alone for EC, but Novoa-Miralles produced five in the last frame for Barton to keep the Lions tamed.
The win was Barton's third straight against Emmanuel.
The Bulldogs will play their first game ever against North Greenville University on Saturday, a program in its first season of men's volleyball. The Crusaders are off to an 0-4 start, but the first two of those losses came against the nation's preseason No. 1 team, Pepperdine University. Match time is 2 p.m. in the Dog House.
