Match Stats
- Barton 3, Mount Olive 0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-19)
- Barton moves to 23-5; Mount Olive falls to 18-10
- Barton wins the Conference Carolinas Tournament title and automatic NCAA berth
- Wilson, North Carolina
- Attendance: 487
- Box Score
The second time was the charm for the Barton Bulldogs as the team made good on their second-straight appearance in the Conference Carolinas Tournament finals, this time bringing home the title via sweep. Barton dominated Mount Olive with a .403 hitting effort to clinch the 25-18, 25-15, 25-17 victory and an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
The Bulldogs posted seven blocks to UMO’s six and outdug the Trojans 32 to 15. Mount Olive served up four aces to three for Barton.
Sophomore outside hitter Vasilis Mandilaris racked up a match-high 13 kills, while hitting at a .647 clip and adding five digs and two aces for the Bulldogs. Freshman right side Angelos Mandilaris chipped in 11 kills, four digs and three blocks. Sophomore outside Aleksa Brkovic added nine kills and hit at a .462 clip. Sophomore middle blocker Nick Leary put up a team-best six blocks, while senior libero Jonathan Novoa-Miarlles pulled up a team-leading eight digs.
Junior opposite Robert Poole managed nine kills and two aces to lead the Trojan effort. Junior opposite Bret Rutledge followed with six kills and senior middle Andrew Sydow added five. Senior middle Alex Palmatier put up a team-best four blocks, while junior setter Jeff Yasalonis added three stuffs. Four UMO players tallied a team-leading three digs.
Barton hit at a .500 clip and jumped ahead 8-4 early in Set 1 with help from a pair of blocks and kills by Brkovic, Vasilis Mandalaris and Angelo Mandalaris. The Trojans cut the margin to one at 10-9 after back-to-back aces by Poole. An 8-1 run, including three Mount Olive miscues and kills by five different players, put Barton up 18-10. ahead 18-10. UMO pulled within five four times, last at 23-18, but an Angelos Mandilaris kill and a hitting error sealed the set.
Barton raced out to a 5-1 lead in Set and carried the momentum to a seven-point advantage at 14-7. A kill and two aces by Vasilis Mandalaris aided the Bulldogs early on. Four Mount Olive errors and a pair of Brkovic kills built the 14-7 lead. Poole tallied three kills to keep the Trojans within five at 16-11. Barton scored six of the next seven to up the margin to 10 at 22-12. UMO scored three straight, including a Rutledge ace and Palmatier kill, but couldn’t hold off the Bulldogs. An Angelos Mandilaris kill and two Mount Olive errors wrapped up the 25-15 win. Barton hit at an amazing .611 clip in the set, committing just one error and posting 12 kills in 18 swings.
Barton quickly distanced itself from the Trojans in Set 3, breaking out of the gates with the first six points, including three straight Vasilis Mandilaris putaways. Mount Olive narrowed the gap to four on six occasions, last at 13-9, but the Bulldogs answered with a 4-0 run, including a block by Leary and Brkovic. An Andrew Sydow ace and a trio of Barton errors put UMO within six at 20-14, and a block and a kill by Poole made it 22-16. A pair of Angelos Mandelaris putaways and a Trojan error ended the night, capturing Barton the Conference Carolinas Tournament title. The Bulldogs wrapped up the match with just a .185 hitting effort in the final stanza, but held Mount Olive to a -.067 effort.
Conference Carolinas All-Conference Tournament team
Most Valuable Player – Federico Pagliara, Barton College
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