Box Score by Cory Guinn
WILSON, N.C. – Eleven players recorded a kill for the Barton men's volleyball team as the Bulldogs earned a 3-0 (26-24, 25-16, 25-15) league victory over King University on Friday night in Wilson Gym.
Barton improved to 8-3 overall and 5-2 in Conference Carolinas play with their fifth straight league win, while King fell to 3-8 on the season with a 1-5 mark in conference.
After almost a week away from competition, Barton showed no signs of rust with an early 7-3 lead in the first set. However, a 6-0 run put the Tornado ahead 9-7 midway through the set as King's lead grew to as large as a 16-11 lead following a Jeff Spray Berry kill.
BC battled to close the gap to a one-point deficit before King rallied to hold a 24-21 lead and needing just one point to finish the set.
A kill from freshman Vasilis Mandilaris followed by back-to-back kills from fellow freshman Aleksa Brkovic tied the match at 24-24 with the momentum in Barton's favor. BC took the lead on a King attack error and ended the set at 26-24 with a service ace from senior Pierre Tang-Taye.
The Bulldogs once again jumped out an early lead, gaining a 10-4 edge early in the second set. BC cruised through the remainder of the set, sealing the win on a kill from freshman Nick Leary. Barton had no trouble with King in the third set leading to the three-set sweep.
Brkovic recorded nine kills on a .500 hitting percentage and three service aces in the match, while Mandilaris also finished with nine kills. Tang-Taye followed with eight kills of his own as junior Federico Pagliara had his second double-double of the season with 31 assists and 10 digs.
Freshman Kekaulike Alameda led all players with 13 digs as junior Jonathan Novoa-Miralles finished with four kills and a .429 hitting percentage in a reserve role.
Barton hosts Lees-McRae College tomorrow at 11 a.m. in Wilson Gymnasium in its next contest.
