Box Score by Benny Benton
BANNER ELK, N.C. – Just one day after setting a career-high of 21 kills in a five-loss at King University, Barton College junior transfer Pierre Tang-Taye surpassed that mark with 22 – this time in just four sets and this time in a win over Lees-McRae College.
The Reunion Island, France, resident hammered seven kills in both the first and fourth frames in leading the Bulldogs (3-7, 3-4) to the 25-20, 21-25, 25-19, 25-21 victory over the host Bobcats (1-6, 0-5). He set his new high while hitting .375, and also recorded five block assists.
In addition to being Tang-Taye's career high, the 22 kills were the most by any Barton player this year and the third-highest in the program's four-year history.
Ironically, however, the 22 kills were not even the most by a player in the match, as Lees-McRae's Brady Markle produced 25 kills in a losing cause. Markle entered the contest as the national leader in kills per set at 4.68, and fifth in points per frame at 5.0. He improved upon both averages against the Bulldogs.
Markle had eight kills in the second set alone, the one frame which the Bobcats won. Barton helped by hitting .185 in that game while hitting at least .333 in the three sets it won.
There was little drama in the match, as it featured just 13 total ties in the four sets and four lead changes, three of those coming in the final frame.
Lees-McRae did hold a 1-0 lead in the first set, but Barton won the next three points and led the rest of the way. Leading 5-3, Barton pulled away to an 11-5 cushion behind two kills from Jonathan Novoa-Miralles and one each from Tanner Medina and Chad Stanback Jr. The Bobcats pulled back within three points on five occasions but could get no closer.
Although there were four ties in the second frame, Lees-McRae never trailed. With the score knotted at 11-all, Markle delivered three of his eight second-set kills in a five-point run that helped the Bobcats open up a 16-11 cushion. Barton rallied to tie the match at 20-all on a block by Medina and Federico Pagliara, but consecutive Markle kills and a John Sobel service ace put the set out of reach.
The third set had the same script but in reverse. There were again four ties, but this time Barton never trailed. All the ties were early in the set this time, and the Bulldogs padded a 9-7 lead with a five-point spurt to take command of the frame. Tang-Taye had two kills and two block assists, both with Medina, during the run.
In the final frame, the two sides swapped the lead until Barton took it for good at 8-7 on a bad set by Lees-McRae. Leading 12-10, the Bulldogs pulled away to an 18-12 advantage. BC still enjoyed a six-point edge at 20-14 when the Bobcats rallied, getting as close as 20-18 on a Markle ace. However, Tang-Taye had five kills in the match's final eight points to finish off the win for Barton.
Stanback had eight kills to help in the Bulldog win, while Medina added seven kills while hitting .500 and chipped in eight blocks. Mike McMahon had a strong performance from his libero spot for the second straight outing, collecting 17 digs, nearly half the team's total of 36.
Barton will play its seventh straight road match on Tuesday at Coker College before finally making another home appearance on Thursday against league-leading Erskine College.
