WILSON, N.C. – The Barton men's volleyball team (9-9, 7-6) fell in a thrilling five-setter to Mount Olive (12-3, 11-2), 3-2, on Senior Night Tuesday evening in a Conference Carolinas match at Wilson Gymnasium.
The Trojans, the league regular season champions, won by scores of 21-25, 25-21, 22-25, 25-22 and 16-14.
Mount Olive's Tobi Azeez (Melbourne, Victoria, AUSTRALIA) led the way with a match-high 33 kills as the visitors rallied from an 11-8 deficit in the fifth and final set to sweep the season series from the Bulldogs. Azeez also hit .403 for the match.
Barton was led by senior middle blocker
Absalon Williams (Las Vegas, Nev.) with 17 kills while sophomore outside hitter
Nathan Chaparro (Glendale, Ariz.) added 13 kills as the Bulldogs suffered their first home loss of the year.
The Bulldogs also saw their 13-match winning streak at Wilson Gymnasium dating back to the 2019 season snapped as well. Barton junior setter
Moses Kresch (Hershey, Pa.) dished out 51 assists in the losing effort.
Barton is the fourth seed in the 2021 Conference Carolinas Men's Volleyball Championship and will play the winner of fifth-seeded King or eighth-seeded Lees-McRae at Wilson Gymnasium next Tuesday, April 13, beginning at 7:00 p.m. That winner will take on top-seeded Mount Olive in Bristol, Tenn., on Saturday, April 17, starting at Noon on the campus of King University.
