Box Score by Doug Page
NASHVILLE, TENN. – The Barton College men's volleyball team opened the Grow the Game Challenge by winning the second set and taking nationally-ranked No. 4 University of Hawaii to a fourth-set as the Rainbow Warriors prevailed 3-1 (25-16, 20-25, 25-17, 25-22) against the Bulldogs on Saturday at Allen Arena.
The Bulldogs (0-2) showed just how competitive they can be after forcing their second-straight ranked opponent to a fourth set. BC had its best-attacking effort of the night in the second set, hitting .391 while recording 11 kills. Hawaii (4-0) brushed off hitting .074 in the second set by hitting .357 and .320 over the next two sets en route to the win.
Sophomore Angelos Mandilaris recorded a match-high 15 kills on the night for Barton, while junior Vasilis Mandilaris tallied eight kills to go along with six digs. Junior Aleksa Brkovic added 12 kills, three assists, and two digs for Barton, while redshirt junior Oscar Fiorentino recorded 34 assists for the Bulldogs. Freshman Wilfredo Rivera finished with match-high 13 digs for BC.
Hawaii was paced by a team-high 13 kills from Austin Matautia, who hit .450 in the match. Matautia also added five digs for the Rainbow Warriors. Brett Rosenmeier notched 12 kills and delivered four service aces to go along with four digs. Stijn van Tilburg tallied eight kills and four digs, while Joe Worsley dished out a match-high 43 assists for Hawaii.
The Rainbow Warriors started the match by firing on all cylinders, hitting .478 as a team. Hawaii would take a 6-2 lead in the opening set before V. Mandilaris stopped a 3-0 run with a kill to make it 6-3. Trailing 8-4, BC rallied to close the gap to 8-7 after an ace from junior Nick Leary. Hawaii would increase its lead to 19-14 following an attack error by the Bulldogs, leading to a timeout by Barton.
Barton stopped a run by Hawaii momentarily, trimming the deficit to 19-15, only to see the Rainbow Warriors use a 5-0 run to pull within a point of taking the first set. A. Mandilaris extended the set for BC by delivering a kill to make it 24-16 but a service error on the next play would give Hawaii the set by a score of 25-16.
A kill from Leary coupled with an ace from Brkovic allowed the Bulldogs to take a 5-3 lead in the second set. The triple-block would help to give BC an 8-5 lead in the set as A. Mandilaris, junior Justice Lord, and V. Mandilaris teamed-up to deny an attack by Hawaii's Rado Parapunov. The Rainbow Warriors, despite not playing their best volleyball would use a 3-0 rally to knot the score 8-8. Trailing 10-9, a 4-0 run would give Hawaii momentum in the set and lead to a timeout by Barton.
The Bulldogs used the timeout to break the momentum put together by Hawaii and win seven of the next nine points to take a 17-15 lead. Leary's second ace of the night would give BC the two-point cushion. V. Mandilaris then delivered consecutive kills to give BC a 19-16 lead and force Hawaii to use a timeout. Barton wouldn't let momentum switch sides as Hawaii would drop the set, 25-20 after a service error by Dalton Solbrig. The Bulldogs hit .391 in the set, while Hawaii hit just .074 after committing eight errors.
Hawaii regrouped early in the third set, jumping out to a 5-2 lead after a kill by Rosenmeier. Fiorentino delivered an ace for BC to cap a 3-0 and knot the score 5-5 before Hawaii would take the lead back. The momentum would go back and forth until Barton trimmed the Hawaii lead to 14-12. The Rainbow Warriors pieced together a 6-0 rally that would give them a huge 20-12 lead in the set. The Bulldogs would use both of their timeouts during the run looking to break the rally. BC trimmed the Hawaii lead to 24-17 after an attack error by Matautia but the Rainbow Warriors would take the set with the next point as Matautia delivered the kill to give Hawaii the set 25-17 and a 2-1 lead in the match.
Barton would have the upper hand early in the fourth set as it took a 3-1 lead after a kill by Brkovic. Hawaii answered with a 3-0 run to take a 4-3 lead and trade points with BC until it used another 2-0 rally to take a 7-5 lead. Halfway through the set, the Bulldogs saw Hawaii take an 18-17 following a kill by Matautia. Barton responded in a big way, using a 4-0 rally to take a 21-18 lead and momentum as the Rainbow Warriors called a timeout. The run would be highlighted by back-to-back-to-back kills from Brkovic.
The Bulldogs seemed poised to finish off the set and force a decisive fifth set against the Rainbow Warriors after taking a 22-19 lead. Hawaii would have different plans in mind, however, using a 6-0 run to erase the deficit on the scoreboard and take the match in the process. BC would commit four attack errors over the final six points of the set as a double-block by Worsley and Patrick Gasman gave the Rainbow Warriors a 25-22 victory and a 3-1 win to end the match.
Both teams recorded 13 kills in the fourth set, while Barton committed eight errors en route to hitting .156. Hawaii committed five errors in the set and rebounded by hitting .320 after a sluggish run through the middle portion of the set.
Barton will face Lindenwood at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 14 as it looks to go 1-1 at the inaugural Off the Block Grow the Game Challenge presented by MotorMVB. Links to live stats and video of the match can be found at www.BartonBulldogs.com.
