Box Score by Cory Guinn
BELMONT, N.C. – The Barton College men's volleyball team earned a 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-21) straight-set sweep over Belmont Abbey College on Wednesday evening in the Wheeler Center.
Barton moved its overall record to 16-4 and improved its Conference Carolinas mark to 10-2, while Belmont Abbey fell to 13-9 with an 8-6 mark in league play.
The Bulldogs and Crusaders each hit over .400 in the first set as Belmont Abbey jumped out to an early 6-2 lead. Barton eventually tied the first set at 19-19 and scoring four of the final five points in the set for the win.
BC was the beneficiary of an early run in the second set, leading 6-3 after a service ace from senior Pierre Tang-Taye. Belmont Abbey took the lead at 7-6 before a service error tied the set at seven points apiece. The two sides played to three more tied as a 5-0 run put BC ahead 16-11 with Barton taking the set on a Belmont Abbey service error.
The third set of action was once again close throughout with Barton outscoring Belmont Abbey 5-2 down the stretch to secure the three-set sweep.
Tang-Taye led three Bulldogs with double-digit kills, finishing the night with 12 kills and seven digs, while freshman Aleksa Brkovic registered 11 kills of his own.
Fellow freshman Vasilis Mandilaris also finished with 11 kills to go along with eight digs as junior setter Federico Pagliara led all players with 38 assists. Freshman Kekaulike Alameda recorded a match-high nine digs on defense.
Barton hosts Emmanuel College on Friday, April 1 at 7 p.m. before welcoming North Greenville University to Wilson on Saturday, April 2 at 2 p.m. in Wilson Gym.
