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Rocking and rolling

Lady Bulldogs sweep Mount Olive for 8th consecutive victory


Setbacks have kept Brittany Edwards, a product of Hunt High, and Greenville’s Ginny Howard on the sidelines a considerable amount of the 2015 Barton College women’s volleyball season.

But both were back on the court and contributing Saturday evening in Wilson Gymnasium when, on their night — Senior Night — Barton wrapped up its regular-season home schedule during homecoming weekend with a 25-22, 28-26, 25-17 NCAA Division II Conference Carolinas triumph against archriv
al University of Mount Olive.



Edwards and Howard, Barton’s only seniors, participated in a milestone occasion. The Lady Bulldogs extended their winning streak to eight matches and posted the 300th victory since the program became affiliated with NCAA Div. II in 1995. The eighth win in 11 home starts vaulted Barton, the occupant of third place in the overall league standings, to 8-3 and 13-8, respectively, with five conference tests remaining.

Howard best summarized the occasion.

“As a Bulldog, this is the best thing you can do,” she exclaimed. “Beating Mount Olive, being able to play and execute is a good feeling — the ideal picture for Senior Night.”

The Lady Bulldogs of fourth-year head coach Jeff Lennox survived two intensely contested opening sets and then separated themselves from the Lady Trojans in the final set. Mount Olive departed 3-8 and 4-17, respectively.

“We were definitely inspired to keep the rivalry going,” acknowledged 6-foot-1 Mount Olive junior Sarah Watkins. “We saw the signs: ‘Keep calm. Beat Mount Olive.’ We can’t wait to play them at our place.”

However, Watkins admitted the long second set grinded on the Lady Trojans. The biggest margin for either squad was two points and a whopping 21 ties occurred before two Mount Olive errors snapped a 26-26 standoff. Highlighting the set was sensational digging by both teams.

“The second set definitely took a lot out of us,” Watkins said. “We have struggled with playing with energy and staying strong in the second set. I am pleased with how we played in the second set tonight.”

Barton forged a 6-2 margin in the
final set, and Edwards and freshman Hayley Marshburn combined for a block to up the Lady Bulldogs’ advantage to 9-5. Barton’s 14-10 margin prompted a timeout from Mount Olive second-year head coach Colby Mangum.

Mount Olive errors became more frequent, especially after the Lady Bulldogs’ cushion expanded to 19-11. A Lady Trojans mistake at the net ended the match.

“We stepped up and they stepped back — those were the two biggest things in that third set,” Edwards contended.

Ten deadlocks dotted the opening set. From a 20-20 stalemate, Barton seized the upper hand and finished the set with a kill and service ace from Mediza.

Junior Stephanie Pingyin, honored three times as the league’s player of the week, again triggered the Barton attack with 15 kills. Junior Mariana Kedzia added 10. Freshman Angelica Acevedo sparkled with 32 assists. Digs leaders were Acevedo with 13, Marshburn with eight and junior Kaitlyn Micol with six. Micol and sophomore Courtney Wiseman served effectively in the final set.

Edwards and Howard were simply delighted to be involved.

“It’s great to go out at home on a good note and beat Mount Olive, 3-0,” Edwards commented. “I am very proud of my teammates. I was expecting us to get a win. We did exactly what we needed to do — and got it.

“We have developed a team culture so unlike anything in the past. You combine discipline and great players and you get this.”

Added Howard: “Coach just told us to buckle down, continue to do the easy things and focus on the things we had problems with. We took care of business. We did pretty well. It’s always good to end Senior
Night with a win. That’s a great feeling in general, plus continuing the winning streak.”

Mount Olive was paced by junior Alysha Burnett with 14 kills and senior Danielle Plante with nine. Senior Nicole Karas amassed 19 assists and freshman Danielle Stachura 13. Sophomore libero Samantha Winfield led with 10 digs. The Lady Trojans have dropped their last three outings against Barton.

“It’s a learning season,” Watkins reasoned. “We haven’t won as many matches as we had hoped, but we are continuing to improve. We’re definitely on the upswing — especially with the way we played tonight.”

hammer@wilsontimes.com | 265-7819

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