Box Score by Benny Benton
GAFFNEY, S.C. – For the second straight day, Barton College dropped a four-set decision in Conference Carolinas play, this time falling to host Limestone College, 25-20, 26-24, 23-25, 25-19.
Last night, the Bulldogs (2-4, 2-3) suffered a similar fate at the hands of defending champion Erskine College. In both cases, Barton bounced back from a two-set deficit to win the third set and then played a tight fourth frame before falling.
And for the second straight match, Barton was led by junior transfer Pierre Tang-Taye, who recorded 18 kills, a new high in his brief Barton career. Sophomores Jonathan Novoa-Miralles and Chad Stanback Jr. each added 11 kills.
BC libero Mike McMahon produced a season-high 17 digs, and sophomore setter Federico Pagliara contributed a double-double of 44 assists and 10 digs.
Limestone, which has won three of its last four matches, improved to 4-5 overall and 3-1 in league competition. The Saints were paced by sophomore Bruno Kretzschmar, who delivered 15 kills. Fellow sophomore Juan Ruiz Goyco added 10 kills, and freshman libero Daric Sanders collected 16 digs in the win.
The Saints jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead in set one, but Barton rallied back to within one at 9-8. Limestone surged ahead by four at 15-11, but kills by Novoa-Miralles and Stanback helped the Bulldogs rally back to tie the game at 18-all. Both Novoa-Miralles and Stanback had four kills in the frame.
The two sides traded points to leave the game knotted at 19-all when a Barton attack error gave the Saints possession, and two straight service aces by Joel Muhlbach started a five-point run that put Limestone in command, 24-19.
The Saints and Bulldogs fought through 16 ties and eight lead changes in a tight second set. With the score tied at 19-all, Barton used three Limestone miscues and a Tanner Medina kill to open up a 23-20 cushion. However, the Saints stormed back to win the next four points and reach set point at 24-23.
The Bulldogs used a kill from Stanback to tie the game again at 24-all and send the set into a tiebreaker, but Goyco produced a kill and a solo block for Limestone to end the frame and give the Saints a 2-0 set lead.
After several ties early in set three, Barton used strong play from Tang-Taye and Stanback to lead a 12-3 run and move in front 18-9. Tang-Taye had five kills in the set and Stanback added four.
Limestone battled back to within a single point at 21-20 behind Joel McGwire, who had five kills in the frame. However, the two sides traded points the rest of the way, with a kill by Stanback putting the final touches on the 25-23 win. Barton hit .344 in the set, its best performance of the day.
The two sides again battled through a tight fourth set that featured 14 ties and a trio of lead changes. Tang-Taye had a superb frame for the Bulldogs, collecting seven kills in the set with just one error. However, Limestone had its best attacking set of the match, hitting .370, and the Saints broke a 17-all tie with an 8-2 run to close out the match.
The weekend matches were the start of a seven-match stretch of road contests for Barton. The Bulldogs return to the road Jan. 30 and 31 for a pair of matches against a pair of nationally-ranked opponents, including defending national champion and current No. 1 Loyola-Chicago.
