Box Score by Cory Guinn
WILSON, N.C. – The Barton College women's volleyball team used a season-high .284 hitting percentage to defeat Converse College in straight sets and pick up its first Conference Carolinas victory on Saturday afternoon in Wilson Gymnasium.
The Lady Bulldogs (5-6, 1-1) held the Valkyries (3-6, 0-3) to a .070 hitting percentage as a team while committing a season-low 12 hitting errors in the match.
The first set of action saw the two teams play to six early ties with the final being a 9-9 score. From that point, Barton controlled the momentum and won the set with a 14-4 run to gain the early one-set edge.
BC was able to carry the momentum over into the second set, building a lead of 6-2 before Converse closed to within two points. However, a 10-3 run for Barton extend the lead to a nine-point advantage that carried throughout the set.
Converse rebounded by winning the first two points of the third set before Barton was able to tie the set at 2-2 early on. Back-to-back attack errors by the Valkyries allowed the Lady Bulldogs to go ahead by two points, eventually extending the lead to 7-3 after a block and kill from senior Brittany Edwards.
The Valkyries were able to battle back and tie the game at 9-9 following two kills by Aeriel Wheeler, a Barton attack error and a service, taking a 10-9 lead on a second straight service ace. BC continued to hold strong, tying the game at 11-11 before building a lead of its own that grew to as large a 19-14 advantage.
Despite Converse closing the gap, the Royal Blue and White created distance with back-to-back kills by junior Mariana Kedzia and a kill by freshman Haley Headley before an attack error from Converse ended the match.
A balanced attack led the Lady Bulldogs in their winning effort as sophomore Stephanie Pingyin led the team with 11 kills in just two sets.
Kedzia followed with nine kills and eight digs of her own, while freshmen Hayley Marshburn and Alexandra Cullens each totaled five kills. Marshburn led all players with a season-high 17 digs as junior Kaitlyn Micol recorded a career-high 29 assists.
Barton continues a five-game homestand on Friday, Sept. 25 when the team hosts league member Southern Wesleyan University at 7 p.m. in Wilson Gymnasium.
