Box Score by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – Barton College sophomore Chad Stanback Jr. matched a season-high with 14 kills, but his efforts came in a four-set loss to rival University of Mount Olive Saturday at Kornegay Arena.
Junior transfer Pierre Tang-Taye also had 14 kills and added 10 digs for his second Barton double-double. Senior Brennan O'Connor recorded eight kills and nine digs, both career highs. The Bulldogs (4-9, 3-6) also received a match-high 19 digs from senior Mike McMahon and 44 assists from sophomore setter Federico Pagliara.
Mount Olive (5-5, 5-3) was paced by 13 kills from Victor Fraga Leal and 10 kills from Robert Poole. Josh Donahue claimed 14 digs and Andrew Sydow delivered seven blocks in the victory.
Three of Stanback's five first-set kills came in Barton's first six points of the match, and the Bulldogs matched the Trojans through five ties in the early going. Barton trailed by just two points at 14-12 when Mount Olive went on a 6-0 run to put away the frame. Sydow and Tyler Yanez both had solo blocks and Leal added a service ace to fuel the spurt.
The second set was extremely close, with 15 ties and five lead changes. Neither side took more than a two-point advantage. Trailing 21-19, a kill by Brennan O'Connor and a block by Stanback and Tanner Medina tied the match at 21-all. After trading side outs for four straight possessions, Barton took a 24-23 lead on a block by Medina and Pagliara, but a Leal kill drew Mount Olive even once more, and consecutive attack errors by the Bulldogs allowed the Trojans to claim the frame.
Mount Olive enjoyed a three-point cushion at 10-7 of the third set and still led by two as late as 15-13, but the Bulldogs responded with a 5-0 run that included a kill and block assist by Michael Perez and an ace by Tang-Taye. The Trojans pulled back within one on three occasions – the last time at 20-19 – but BC went on a four-point spurt that included a kill from O'Connor and two from Tang-Taye.
Set four was tied at 10-all when Mount Olive moved ahead by four points following a 6-2 run that was sparked by a pair of kills from Poole. From there, the Trojans pulled away by producing their best hitting set of the match, .423. Poole had five kills in the frame without an error.
Barton had 10 more digs than UMO in the contest, but the Trojans had four more team blocks than BC. Barton hit .143 for the contest while Mount Olive hit .168.
The Bulldogs will host Limestone College in their next match on Saturday, Feb. 21, at 2 p.m.
