Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 by Benny Benton
PHOENIX – The Barton College men's volleyball team put a scare into both NCAA Division I member Grand Canyon University and NAIA national power Concordia University Irvine on Friday, forcing both teams into decisive fifth sets before falling in a tri-match at Antelope Gymnasium.
The Bulldogs (8-11) were down two sets and stood just four points away from a straight-set loss against the host Antelopes (9-7) when they stormed back to win the third frame and claim the fourth as well. Barton led as late as 5-4 in the final set before GCU pulled away for a victory that snapped BC's four-match winning streak.
After losing the opening set to Concordia (8-4), which has played in each of the last two NAIA national championship matches, Barton rallied to win each of the next two sets. The Eagles, currently ranked No. 6 in the NAIA Top 10, claimed the fourth frame to force the decisive set, and enjoyed three match points after reaching 14-11. However, the Bulldogs clawed all the way back to grab their own match point at 15-14 before CUI closed out the contest by winning the final three points.
Junior Pierre Tang-Taye led the Royal Blue and White in both matches, collecting 23 kills against Grand Canyon and 17 against the Eagles. Senior Brennan O'Connor, who set a career high on Tuesday with 11 kills, matched that total against the Antelopes, then added nine against Concordia.
Freshman Charles Hyde had the best day of his young career. The 6-5 middle blocker from Australia collected eight kills while hitting .429 in the opener, also chipping in five blocks. He then delivered a season-best 14 kills while hitting .444 in the nightcap against the Eagles.
Senior libero Mike McMahon produced 30 digs in the two matches, 14 against Grand Canyon and 16 versus CUI.
Match 1: Grand Canyon 3, Barton 2 (25-16, 25-18, 22-25, 18-25, 15-10)
Building upon its upset of nationally-ranked No. 11 Ohio State University in its most recent match, Grand Canyon came out hitting on all cylinders, making just one error in the entire first set to hit an unbelievable .737. Despite that, Barton stayed close through the first half of the frame before the Antelopes broke open a 12-10 set with an 11-2 run. Sean Saxton and Tanner Maxwell led the charge, producing five and four kills, respectively.
After six ties and four lead changes in the early going of set two, Grand Canyon padded a 15-12 advantage with consecutive kills from Gerrard Lipscombe, Maxwell and Keaton Berry to open up a six-point cushion and cruise to the 2-0 set advantage.
The Antelopes led all the way in reaching 21-18 of the third set, just four points from an easy straight-set victory. However, a kill by Tang-Taye, a triple block by Hyde, Tang-Taye and Federico Pagliara, a Tanner Medina service ace and a Grand Canyon attack error suddenly put Barton into the lead for the first time in the frame. After a time out by the Antelopes, a kill by Maxwell tied the set at 22-all, but kills by McMahon, Chad Stanback Jr. and Tang-Taye closed out the set for the Bulldogs.
Tied 4-4 in the fourth, an ace by Tang-Taye, a triple block by Stanback, Hyde and O'Connor, and a kill by Stanback gave Barton a three-point cushion it would not relinquish. The Bulldogs built a six-point lead that Grand Canyon eventually cut to one at 17-16, but kills by Stanback and O'Connor and an ace by Medina put BC comfortably back up by four.
Barton led as late as 5-4 in set five following a Hyde kill, but the Bulldogs could not stop GCU freshman sensation Shalev Saada, who dominated the final frame with seven kills while hitting .545. The Bulldogs had the same number of kills (7) as the Israeli standout in the last set, but also had five errors to hit just .087.
Match 2: Concordia-Irvine 3, Barton 2 (25-20, 21-25, 15-25, 25-22, 17-15)
Less than an hour after completing the five-set battle with Grand Canyon, the Bulldogs had to take on a fresh Concordia team, and the difference stood out in the first frame. The Eagles were crisp in their attack, making just three errors while hitting .321, while BC committed 10 errors and hit .125. Three of those Barton mishits came in a span of four plays, helping CUI extend an 18-15 lead to 21-16.
Over the next two sets, however, the script flipped. Barton had just three errors in the second set while hitting .269, and made just two miscues in the third frame while hitting a sparkling .519. The Bulldogs got production throughout their lineup in the set, as five different players had at least three kills. Concordia, meanwhile, had eight errors in the second stanza and seven more in the third, hitting .171 and .103 in those sets, respectively.
Clinging to a 10-9 advantage, BC broke open the second set with a 6-1 run that included kills by Stanback, Tang-Taye and Pagliara as well as consecutive aces by Medina. The Bulldogs opened up a big lead early in set three, turning a 5-4 lead into a 12-5 cushion. O'Connor had two kills and an ace in the stretch, and Tang-Taye added a pair of kills as well.
After five early ties in set four, Concordia-Irvine opened up a four-point lead at 16-12, only to watch the Bulldogs pull back to a tie at 19-all following a kill by Hyde. However, the Eagles won five of the next six points to surge comfortably in front again. Tang-Taye had seven kills in the frame while hitting .462, but Devin Ross had five kills for CUI in the set and Ryan Anselmo added four of his team-high 13 kills.
Barton scored the first two points of the final frame and enjoyed that margin through much of the set. The Bulldogs led 10-8 following a block by Medina and Tang-Taye, but a triple block by the Eagles gave Concordia a side out, and consecutive aces by Ross put CUI into the lead for the first time in the frame, 11-10. Two kills and a block assist by Taylor Falduti pushed Concordia's lead to 14-11, putting the Eagles on triple-match point.
However, a kill by Hyde stopped the run and gave Barton possession at 14-12, and a bad set by CUI trimmed the margin to one at 14-13. After a Concordia timeout, another bad set by the Eagles tied the match at 14-all, and another kill by Hyde put Barton on match point at 15-14.
But a kill by Anema, helped by a Barton blocking error, tied the match back at 15, and consecutive attack errors by the Bulldogs handed Concordia the 17-15 victory.
Although Barton hit .231 in the match to CUI's .218, the Bulldogs averaged just .038 in the decisive fifth set.
The same three teams will participate in another tri-match on Saturday. Barton will face Concordia-Irvine again at 1 p.m. Eastern, followed by Grand Canyon at 4 p.m. Eastern.
