Match Stats
- Barton 3, Limestone 0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-22)
- Barton moves to 22-5; Limestone falls to 13-11
- Barton advances to the Conference Carolinas Finals to face Mount Olive
- Wilson, N.C.
- Attendance: 286
- Box Score
No. 1 seeded Barton advanced to the Conference Carolinas Tournament final with a sweep of Limestone on Friday night. The Bulldogs won the match 25-21, 25-22, 25-22 as three players posted double-digit kill efforts and the team hit at a .360 clip. Barton will now face Mount Olive in the tournament championship match at 6:30 p.m. ET Saturday.
Barton won all major statistical categories except digs (31-30 Limestone), outhitting the Saints .360 to .216, outblocking them 6-2.5 and outserving them 4-3.
Sophomore outside hitter Aleksa Brkovic (12), sophomore outside Vasilis Mandilaris (10) and freshman right side Angelos Mandilaris (10) accounted for the bulk of the Barton offense, each hitting .333 or better as well. Brkovic also added six digs and three blocks, while Vasilis Mandilaris also accounted for six digs. Angelos Madilaris served up two of the team’s four aces. Senior libero Jay Novoa-Miralles led the defense with nine digs.
Sophomore outside Kevin Rocklein paced the Saints with 10 kills, five digs and two blocks. Junior outside Anthony Savage added eight kills and senior middle Dylan Lavner and sophomore middle Julien Latard managed seven apiece. Latard hit at a team-best .417 clip and tallied a pair of blocks. Senior libero Nick Wildes pulled up a team-best 12 digs.
Kills by a trio of players put Limestone up 5-2 early in Set 1. After a trio of ties, last at 7-all, a kill and a block by Latard put the Saints up 10-7. An Angelos Mandilaris ace followed by a Vasilis Mandilaris kill capped a 5-0 Barton run, which gave the Bulldogs a 12-10 edge. The teams traded points until Barton put together a 5-1 run to stretch its advantage to five at 22-17. An ace and a kill by Nick Leary and two Vasilis Mandilaris kills aided the run. Two aces and a kill by Latard cut the margin to two at 22-20, but a pair of Brkovic kills wrapped up the stanza.
Limestone went up 4-1 to start Set 2, but the teams soon tied and Barton rallied to a 12-8 lead as Angelos Mandilaris turned in three kills. Two Bulldog errors tied things up at 12, but that sparked a 7-0 Barton run, including three Saint errors and a pair of Leary and Brkovic blocks. Limestone sliced the 19-12 deficit to four at 21-17 with help from two Lavner kills. Two putaways by Vasilis Mandilaris gave Barton a set-point chance at 24-19. Three straight errors prolonged the stanza, but a service error clinched the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead.
Barton carried the momentum into Set 3, scoring the first four points, including a pair of Brkovic kills. Limestone was within one at 6-5, but the Bulldogs pulled away with a 9-4 run. Three Angelos Mandilaris kills and two from Justice Lord helped build the 15-9 lead. The Saints cut the margin to four on several occasions, but Barton held them at bay. Kills by Brkovic and Vasilis Mandilaris put the Bulldogs on the hill for the match at 24-18. Limestone scored four straight to keep the match going. A Brkovic putaway sealed the win at 25-22.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy: Limestone Athletics
WILSON, N.C. – The Limestone College men’s volleyball team fell to Barton College in three sets in Conference Carolinas semifinal action on Friday evening at the Wilson Gymnasium.
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Limestone 0, Barton 3 (21-25), (22-25), (22-25)
Records: Limestone (13-11), Barton (22-5)
Location: Wilson Gymnasium
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Sophomore outside hitter Kevin Rocklein (Orlando, Fla.) led the Saints with 10 kills.
- Senior setter Luca Wanek (Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany) tallied 24 assists.
- Senior libero Nick Wildes (Waukesha, Wisc.) notched a team-high 12 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
Limestone started the set by taking an early 2-0 and held onto the lead until Barton scored five consecutive points to take the 12-10 advantage over the Saints. The Blue and Gold kept working its way out of a deficit and got within two points, 22-20, but was outscored 3-1 in the final points to finalize the 25-21 set victory in favor of Barton.
Second Set
The Saints once again started the set with an early lead, this time at 4-1 over the Bulldogs. Both teams traded possessions as the scoreboard was knotted on three occasions before a 5-1 run from Barton widened the gap, 12-8.The Saints retaliated with four consecutive points of their own to tie the score at 12-all. Barton answered with their longest run of the set to go out ahead, 19-12. The Saints made things interesting after holding off three set points, but eventually fell just short as the Bulldogs stole the second set 25-22.
Third Set
Barton turned the tables and scored the first four points before the Saints found their way on the scoreboard, 4-1. Limestone kept chipping away at the Barton lead and looked to make a comeback late in the set, but the difference proved to be too much as the Bulldogs won the third set 25-22.
NOTABLES
- Earlier this afternoon, senior outside hitter Bruno Kretzschmar and senior middle blocker Dylan Lavner (Oswego, N.Y.) were named to the All-Conference Carolinas Second Team.
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