Hawks Storm past Barton, Win Five Set Thriller
Box Score WILSON, NC- The Chowan University volleyball team clawed their way back from a 2-0 deficit to earn a thrilling 3-2 win over Barton College on Tuesday. The Hawks improve to 2-3 on the year with the victory while the Bulldogs slide to 0-6 on the season after the setback. Tuesday's win over Barton marked the first time Chowan defeated the Bulldogs since 2012.
Barton topped the Hawks 25-18 set one and grabbed a 25-13 victory in set two to extend their lead to 2-0 in the match. Down but not out, the Hawks rallied to defeat the Bulldogs 25-18 in set three and edged Barton 26-24 in set four, forcing a fifth and final set. Chowan took advantage of the momentum and took home a 15-13 set five win.
Suraya Chase led all players in the contest with 17 kills. She also hauled in 16 digs for Chowan. Morgan Spencer followed with 10 kills with Bailey Zavala and Makayla Castronotching 31 digs and 12 digs, respectively.
Four players tallied double-digit kills for Barton led by Kaitlyn Micol with 14. Hayley Marshburn followed with 13 kills with Alexandra Cullens and Mariana Kedzia adding 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Riley Bane notched 21 digs to aid the effort for Barton.
In set one, Barton grabbed the momentum right from the start. After taking an early 3-0 lead, the Bulldogs hung on to the lead for the remainder of the set, earning a 25-18 victory. With the score tied 4-4 in set two, two kills and a service ace by Barton left the Hawks trailing 7-4. Barton never looked back from the early advantage and raced to a 25-13 win.
Chowan and Barton battled for control in the third set. With the score tied 16-16, the Hawks took advantage of a Bulldog error followed by a kill by Chase to pull away 18-16. After taking the lead Chowan maintained control for the remainder of the set and closed out the 25-18 win behind a kill by Chase.
The Bulldogs regrouped at the start of the fourth set, pulling away by as many as six points (18-12). A Barton service error followed by two Bulldog errors put the Hawks back within striking distance. Chowan fought back relentlessly to knot the score 22-22 using a kill by Chase. With the score tied 24-24, a Barton service error and kill by Spencer locked up the 26-24 win for the Hawks, forcing a fifth set.
With the score tied 4-4 early in set five, a kill by Spencer sparked an 8-4 run by Chowan, leaving the Bulldogs trailing 12-8 down the stretch. Barton fought back to knot the set 13-13 after a Hawk error, but a Barton service error followed by an attack error gave Chowan all they would need to secure the 15-13 win.
The Hawks return to action on Thursday as Chowan travels to take on North Greenville. Match time is slated for 7pm.