Box Score by Doug Page
MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. – A matchup between Barton College and the University of Mount Olive on Tuesday would go to the Bulldogs, who recorded a 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-17) sweep of the Trojans in Conference Carolinas women's volleyball action.
Barton (12-13, 8-2) got a quick start against the Trojans, jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the match before seeing UMO gain some momentum in the second set. BC completed the season-sweep of the Trojans and moved its winning-streak against UMO to 10 matches dating back to Sept. 30, 2014. Mount Olive (6-18, 1-9) held a big lead in the second set but would be unable to hold off a late surge from the Bulldogs.
Sophomore Kaytlin Elkins notched a double-double in the match to pace Barton. The Hope Mills, N.C. native tallied a match-high 17 kills and 17 digs, while freshman Sarah Kirk added four kills, nine assists, and two service aces. Senior Angelica Acevedo tallied a match-high 19 assists for BC, while redshirt senior Riley Bane delivered 16 digs.
Ania Keene and Cyerra Carter combined to pace Mount Olive with five kills each in the match. Kamber Skeen added four kills while notching seven assists and 12 digs for the Trojans. Jimnelly Del Valle recorded a team-high 16 digs, while Nicholle Yeo added seven assists.
Barton got to work quickly in the opening set as the Bulldogs tallied 12 kills as a team while hitting .229. The Bulldogs took a 3-0 lead in the set before UMO rallied to eventually trim the deficit to 4-3. Kirk delivered a kill that would start a 5-0 rally for the Bulldogs. The run would be capped with consecutive attack errors from the Trojans. Mount Olive trimmed the deficit to 13-10 later in the set before BC stretched the lead to 17-10.
The Bulldogs used a 6-1 stretch later in the set to take a 23-13 advantage over the Trojans. Elkins capped the run with a kill that would lead to a timeout by UMO. The Trojans used the timeout to regroup and trim the deficit to 23-16 with a 3-0 rally. An attack error followed by a kill from Elkins secured the 25-16 victory to give Barton a 1-0 lead in the match.
Mount Olive erased a 6-5 deficit in the second set with a 5-0 run to take a 10-6 lead over the Bulldogs. BC would trail by as many as six points in the set as Mount Olive increased its advantage to 16-10 with a 3-0 run following a blocking error from BC. Trailing 22-16 in the set, Barton started its rally as a kill from Kirk trimmed the deficit to 22-20 and forced the Trojans to call a timeout.
The timeout wouldn't stop the momentum of the Bulldogs, who rattled off four more points to take a 24-22 lead in the set following a kill from Elkins. UMO ended the 8-0 run by the Bulldogs to pull within a point of knotting the score before Elkins recorded her second straight kill to complete the comeback and put BC up 2-0 in the match with a 25-23 victory.
Barton opened the third set with a 3-0 run and would eventually take a 7-1 lead in the set thanks to a block from junior Kelsey Riquelme and sophomore Camryn Frederick. The Trojans ended the run following a timeout off a service error from BC. Leading 17-12, Barton used a 4-0 rally to increase its lead to 21-12. The Trojans countered with a 3-0 rally to cut the deficit to 21-15.
Junior Santana Mestas recorded a kill to end the run by UMO and freshman Brittany Silance followed with an ace to put BC up 23-15. A pair of miscues by the Trojans would secure the sweep for the Bulldogs, who recorded a 25-17 victory in the set.
The Bulldogs head to Central, S.C. on Friday for a matchup with Southern Wesleyan before making the trip to Tigerville, S.C. for a meeting with North Greenville on Saturday.
