Box Score by Doug Page
FRANKLIN SPRINGS, GA – A night after claiming the Conference Carolinas North Division Championship, the Barton College women's volleyball team dropped a 3-0 decision (25-23, 25-13, 25-23) on the road against South Division leader Emmanuel College on Saturday.
The Lady Bulldogs saw their 14-match winning streak snapped as they fell for the first time since Sept. 9. BC stands at 17-7 overall on the season while dropping to 11-1 in conference play. Emmanuel upped its record to 16-9 overall this season and 12-2 in the conference. The Lions extended their winning streak to four matches with the win and pulled to within a loss of the Lady Bulldogs in the overall conference standings.
Freshman Kaytlin Elkins and senior Miranda Miller recorded a team-high 11 kills for Barton, while red shirt junior Riley Bane added a team-high 16 digs for the Lady Bulldogs. Elkins and Miller also tallied eight digs each for BC.
Barton junior Angelica Acevedo registered a team-high 27 assists to go along with four digs and three kills. Freshman Ashley Owen registered nine digs for Barton and junior Allie Cullens tallied a pair solo blocks.
Emmanuel was led by a match-high 14 kills from Julie de Blanck. She would also record three solo blocks in the match for the Lions as Emmanuel notched 11 total team blocks. Aysha Avery tallied a match-high 20 digs for the Lions, while Stephanie Hardy dished out a match-high 31 assists. Jenna Woodruff narrowly missed a double-double with seven kills and 10 digs for Emmanuel.
The opening set saw a total of four ties and one lead change as Emmanuel held-off several rallies by the Lady Bulldogs. Barton started things off by racing out to a 6-0 lead and forcing Emmanuel to call a timeout. After an ace was delivered by Bane, BC found itself with a 10-2 advantage in the set. The Lions used a 5-0 run to trim the deficit to 13-9 and draw Barton to use a timeout.
Tied 22-22, an attack error by Miller gave Emmanuel a one-point advantage. BC would even the score at 23-23 before the Lions recorded the final two points needed to take the opening set 25-23.
Emmanuel controlled the temp in the second set and used a 5-0 rally to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 6-2 lead. Barton responded by going on a 3-0 spurt to pull within a point of the Lions at 7-6. Later in the set, Emmanuel used a 7-0 rally to open the score up and take a 20-11 lead. The Lions scored five of the final six points in the set to secure the 25-13 victory and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Set three started just as set two did, with Emmanuel erasing an early 2-1 deficit and turning it into a 5-2 lead after a 4-0 rally. Barton stayed on the offensive and would take a 14-11 lead in the set after falling behind 10-9. The rally sparked the Lions, however, as Emmanuel went on a 6-0 run to take a 17-14 edge in the set.
The Lady Bulldogs fought to eventually tie the score at 21-21 before Emmanuel used a quick 2-0 run to take a 23-21 lead. A bad set by the Lions allowed BC to pull within a point and looking to even the score yet again, Emmanuel took advantage of a service error by Barton to secure the 25-23 victory and complete the 3-0 sweep of the Lady Bulldogs.
Barton hosts UNC Pembroke in a non-conference match on Tuesday night beginning at 5 p.m. at the Wilson Gymnasium. BC then finishes the regular season with a pair of conference matches on the road against Lees-McRae and King.
