Coming into last week, three teams had emerged as legitimate contenders in the Conference Carolinas in King, Barton and Mount Olive. All were 5-0 in league play, but with matches against each other ahead. Through the results, only one was left unbeaten as Barton usurped King as the league favorite to this point in the year and look ready to defend their conference crown from last year.
With new story-lines emerging and a new season of sorts in league play commencing, VolleyMob will be giving conference updates. Below is analysis as well as the weekly Conference Carolinas table, awards, matches of the week and power rankings:
CONFERENCE CAROLINAS TABLE:
| TEAM | CONF. | OVERALL |
| (RV) Barton | 8-0 | 10-6 |
| King | 7-1 | 10-3 |
| Mount Olive | 6-2 | 9-5 |
| Belmont Abbey | 4-4 | 6-8 |
| Emmanuel | 3-4 | 5-8 |
| North Greenville | 3-5 | 7-9 |
| Limestone | 2-6 | 5-12 |
| Erskine | 1-6 | 2-10 |
| Lees-McRae | 0-6 | 2-11 |
WEEKLY HONORS:
MATCHES OF THE WEEK:
- Feb. 28: Emmanuel at Limestone
- Mar. 2: Mount Olive at Belmont Abbey
- Mar. 2: King at #5 Loyola Chicago
- Mar. 3: (RV) Barton at Belmont Abbey
- Mar. 3: King at #8 Lewis
VOLLEYMOB CONFERENCE CAROLINAS POWER RANKINGS:
- Barton
- King
- Mount Olive
- Emmanuel
- Belmont Abbey
- North Greenville
- Limestone
- Erskine
- Lees-McRae
THE CONFERENCE RUNS THROUGH BARTON
- (RV) Barton Bulldogs
Even as the defending Conference Carolinas champion, Barton didn’t have as strong of a non-conference slate as King, causing them to get less hype atop the league than their counterparts. They sent a huge statement though this past week with three victories – one at Mount Olive in a tough five-setter, another over Lees-McRae and an attention-grabbing sweep of King. The two match up for a second time in early April, but after controlling the first meeting there should be confidence they can win on the road as they have a legitimate opportunity to run the table from here.
IN THE RACE, BUT WORK TO DO
- King Tornado
King is still right on the heels of Barton, but they were dealt a three-set loss in which they failed to reach more than 20 points in a set. They were riddled by offensive attack errors in the match, so if they can play a more clean match they will have a shot at home, but it won’t be easy. They did earn a big five-set victory against Mount Olive though to keep them just a match behind Barton, who they tied for the Conference Carolinas title with last year but never got a chance at them in the postseason after they faltered in the semifinals.
- Mount Olive Trojans
Mount Olive sits back in third place of the league race, but they were the closer of the top teams in knocking off Barton as they fell in five sets at home. They’ve found nice balance throughout the team, but will need to likely win out from here to have a chance at taking the regular season title away from Barton. Still, there should be confidence that they can beat anyone in the league come the postseason tournament.
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