Due West, SC – #2 Erskine came back from 2 to 1 to defeat #3 Barton 3 to 2 (22-25, 25-22, 23-35, 25-12, and 15-10) in the semi-finals round of the Conference Carolinas Women’s Volleyball Championship Tournament. Erskine (20-10) advances to the conference championship game on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. against #1 Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, North Carolina. Barton finishes their season at 16-15.
Barton took at an early 7-1 lead in the first set behind five Erskine hitting errors forcing Erskine Head Coach Heather Vahjen to take an early timeout. The teams exchanged points through the middle portion of the match. The Fleet closed to within two points at 18-16 on three consecutive Barton errors. The Fleet rally fell short as Barton hung on to win 25-22.
The second set started the same with Barton taking an early 4-0 lead behind a kill by Shanae Winston. The Fleet tied the game at 5 each on two kills by junior Jamie Murray (Hermann, MO, East Central CC). The Fleet took the lead for the first time at 10-9 on a kill by Alison Albers (Goodhue, MN, Iowa Lakes CC). From this point, there were five ties and three leads changes lead by both teams 1st Team All-Conference honorees Melissa Ritter (Barton) and Sandra Campbell (Erskine). Ritter had four kills while Campbell (Pilot Point, TX, USC-Upstate) knocked down three kills herself. The Fleet took a late three point lead at 22-19 with kills by Campbell and freshman Mary Crawford James (Mt. Pleasant, SC, Bishop England High School) and a Barton hitting error. Albers closed the set with a kill to give the Fleet the 25-22 win and tying the match at 1 game each.
The Fleet looked to have the momentum going into the 3rd set taking an early six point advantage at 15-9. Barton slowly crawled back into the game and tying the score late at 22-22 on a kill by Meagan Parrott. Following a Fleet error, Ritter blasted a smash down the line to set up game point. Barton won the set 25-22 on a Fleet miscue.
The Fleet pounded the Bulldogs in the fourth set. The Fleet sprinted out to a 7-1 advantage behind two kills by Campbell. The Fleet kept the pressure on the Bulldogs lengthening their lead to 18-8 before winning the match 25-12 and setting up the decisive fifth set.
Erskine took a crucial early three point lead and held on to win the final set 15-10 over the Barton Bulldogs.
Erskine’s Sandra Campbell had a game-high 15 kills on an impressive .609 hitting percentage. She also had a game-high 5 blocks. Alison Albers also had 13 kills for the Fleet while setter Larz Chabra (Mt. Pleasant, SC, Wando High School) earned her sixth “double-double” on the season with 44 assists and 10 digs. Brooke Dodge (Duncan, SC) anchored the back row for the Fleet with 17 digs.
Barton’s Melissa Ritter had a team-high 13 kills along with 9 kills. Setter Carly Love earned a “double-double” with 16 assists and a game-high 20 digs.
Tonight’s victory gives Erskine 20 wins on the season while, for Barton, it marked their first time to advance past the opening round in the conference tournament.
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