Barton Volleyball sweeps its way into National Semifinals for first time since 2003 title season #GoBarton
Barton Volleyball sweeps its way into National Semifinals for first time since 2003 title season,
The 6th seeded Barton Community College volleyball team continued its NJCAA Division I Tournament march with a resounding sweep over 14th seeded Indian Hills Community College (25-21, 25-14, 25-16) Thursday evening in Clarksville, Tennessee.
The seventh straight sweep sends the now 33-2 Cougars into the remaining top four teams of the tournament, playing Friday's 7:00 p.m. semifinal versus 2nd seeded Miami Dade College (24-2) as the Sharks battled from behind in pulling out a 5-set victory over 10th seeded Missouri State-West Plains. Indian Hills, who lost 3-1 to the Cougars back on September 14 in Sterling, Colorado, drops to 26-10 on the year bouncing into Friday's 4:00 p.m. consolation bracket versus West Plains (35-6) in battling for an eventual best-finish fifth placing.
Barton set the tone in each frame by getting out to early leads behind a balance offensive and defensive attack. The Cougars stayed consistent for an overall .255 efficiency combined with seven aces and eight blocks helping force the Warriors into 25 errors and just a .061 hitting percentage.
The balance also showed in the individual stat line as six Cougars recorded four or more kills with five playing apart in the wall of denial.
Kassidy Nixon led with 9 kills on 22 swings for a .273 attack and added 10 digs to just miss her 14th double-double of the year as Mina Kaneko's multiple spectacular saves led to a team high 12 digs.
Naya Danenberg sparked the Cougars early behind 5 first-set kills, finishing at 8 overall and 2 aces while defensively accounting for 6 digs and career high 5 blocks.
For the second straight match, Phoebe Reyes and Anna Wierzbicki recorded nearly identical stat lines with each having 6 kills and two blocks. Mya Thompson's .333 efficiency led the squad recording 5 kills on 12 swings as Aubrey Olander led the wall with 6 blocks while adding 4 kills.
The 6-2 offense was steered by Elena Stankovic's 16 assists with Maurin Reyes guiding the second wave with 13 assists and delivering a team high 3 aces.
RECAP
Earning the opening point in each of the first two sets, Barton strung four straight early in jumping out to a 7-2 start to the evening.
Following four straight by the Warriors, the Cougars countered with three straight to regain a comfortable separation in keeping Indian Hills from cutting the deficit any closer than three points.
Barton further broke away towards mid-set on a 5-0 run behind a pair of Danenberg kills then a teamed up block with Olander.
Leading by nine later at 20-11, Indian Hills fought back with five straight but following a Barton timeout, Nixon and Danenberg attacks pushed the gap back out to seven. A Warrior point later, the firm of Danenberg and Olander again thwarted an attack giving Barton set point at 24-16. Five straight from Indian Hills held off the result but an attack error finished off the frame putting Barton in the driver's seat.
The Cougars again took command early in the second set behind a trio of Nixon court punishers in building a 9-2 lead. Two straight cut the margin to five but it would be the closest the rest of the way as a pair of three straight stretches pushed the gap to ten with a final push of a 4-0 run keyed by P. Reyes and Wierzbicki all but sealed the set at 22-11.
In the third Indian Hills grabbed their lone leads, winning the first two points with another two straight a short time later taking their advantage to 5-3.
From there it was all Cougars, Wierzbicki keying a 4-0 run to flip the advantage before sparking another trio of points expanding the margin out to 10-6.
Barton kept Indian Hills from getting any closer than two points through the mid-set before burying the Warriors with a 7-0 run for a 22-13 score. Three service aces from M. Reyes set the Warriors on their heels with Danenberg and Thompson attacks bookending the decisive run.
Following a last ditch effort of three consecutive Warrior tallies, Thompson's kill followed by a Danenberg ace and Nixon's kill completed the sweep.
Barton's Upcoming Schedule:
Friday: vs Miami Dade College
- *If win, 7:00 p.m. Saturday in Championship match
- *If lose, 4:30 p.m. Saturday in 3rd Place match
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION:
Official NJCAA Championship website: njcaa.org/championships/sports/wvball/div1/index
The entirety of the 2024 NJCAA DI Volleyball Championship will be broadcast live on the NJCAA Network (njcaa.org/network) and will be available to view on-demand at the conclusion of each contest.
The NJCAA Network is available through a variety of pay-per-view pricing options:
- Day Pass - $12
- Tournament Pass - $25
- All-Access Pass (all 2024-25 NJCAA Championship Events) - $100 *Note: All-Access Pass does not include any events that are on ESPNU or ESPN+