Box Score by Cory Guinn
AIKEN, S.C. – Competing in the NCAA Southeast Regional for the first time in school history, the Barton women's volleyball team fell 3-0 (25-10, 25-17, 25-19) to top-seeded USC Aiken in a quarterfinal matchup inside the Convocation Center.
USC Aiken, the No. 1 overall seed in the region, improved to 29-4 overall while the Lady Bulldogs, the No. 8 seed, finished the season with a 22-9 mark.
The Pacers hit .310 as a team in the match, including a scorching .438 mark in the first set to claim a 25-10 win over BC. In the second set, Aiken led 9-4 early on before Barton rebounded to close the gap to a one-point margin following a Pacer attack error at 10-9.
USCA pulled away and extended its lead to 22-15 as the Lady Bulldogs scored four of the next five points to cut the deficit down to four points. However, the home team closed with two straight points to go ahead 2-0 in the match.
Barton led for much of the early goings of the third set, laying claim to a 5-2 lead after back-to-back Aiken errors. The Lady Bulldogs' final lead came at 9-8 as the Pacers closed the match on a 17-9 run to advance to the semifinals.
Sophomore Hayley Marshburn led the team with seven kills and tied for the team lead with 12 digs alongside teammate Riley Bane. Senior Laura Peed had seven digs on defense, while fellow seniors Kaitlyn Micol and Mariana Kedzia each had five kills.
"We don't ever settle," said Barton head coach Jeff Lennox in a post-game press conference. " We want to continue getting better and that's what this experience was about."
Post Game Press Conference
