Barton Volleyball rallies to knock off 20th ranked Colby; secures home playoff match #GoBarton

Down a set and later trailing by eleven points didn't seem to faze the Cougars as the Barton Community College volleyball team was all over Fleske Court Wednesday night launching a rally to knock off 20^th ranked Colby Community College 20-25, 25-19, 25-20, and 25-23.

The victory keeps Barton's hopes of a second seed out of the Jayhawk West alive while locking up a first round home playoff match improving to a third place 10-3 record and 20-11 overall while diminishing Colby's title hopes in dropping to 12-2 and 21-5 on the year.

Barton wraps up its three-match home stretch on Monday against fourth place Hutchinson Community College in a 6:30 p.m. first serve at the Barton Gym.

The set of the night came in the match finale as Barton got off to a horrible start leading the match 2-1 but found itself looking up to a 14-3 deficit.  Getting the aide of four consecutive Colby errors to cut the deficit in half, the Trojans pushed the margin back to eleven scoring five of six points for a seemingly 19-8 commanding lead.

Led by four attacks from Rayanne de Oliveira followed by a Migle Mazurkeviciute kill, Barton closed the gap to seven at 21-14.  Colby grabbed the next point but an Oliveira solo block, Colby attack error, and Mackenzie Pease kill prompted a Trojan timeout with the five point margin.

Eduarda Souza, who came up with big timely attacks down the stretch, tallied two of the Cougars next three points causing Colby to burn their final timeout.  Another Souza kill capped Barton's 7-0 run and stretch of 10-of-11 points going to the home side of the scoreboard cutting the deficit to one.  Colby picked up the next point to make it 23-21 but it would be the last as Barton closed out the match with the final four points as another Souza attack, two points earned at the net by Pease, and setter Agnieska Paskevic's solo block recording the final point in the upset victory.

Barton attacked for just .138 on the night but defensively, the Cougars were on their game led by Mazurkeviciute and Karina de Oliveira's twenty-eight digs a piece followed by Paskevic's twenty-five, Victoria O'Keefe's nineteen and twelve each coming from Souza and Madison Armstrong.

For Karina de Oliveira, the night was historic as the effort pushed the sophomore over the 1000 dig mark in her Cougar career in now tallying 1026 to not only rank second best in Barton history but also in a season at 634 with at least four matches remaining.

On the attacking front, R. Oliveira was the lone Cougar in double-digits with fourteen while also leading the net play with eight blocks including four solo as Barton recorded nine solo and twelve assisted blocks.

Paskevic keyed the offense with thirty-seven assists, posting her 15^th double-double of the season with her twenty-five digs, assisting on three blocks before driving the nail in the Trojan coffin on her lone solo block.

The night's opening set featuring big spurts points begun by a seven point Colby spurt to be answered by Barton's five point stretch to tie it up at ten. The Trojans gained separation with a trio of points, only to have Barton close to within one on a pair of Paskevic-Pease assisted blocks. Colby took the next six points but R. Oliveira led the Cougars back accounting for four points to eventually cut the deficit to three but the Trojans held off the charge in taking the first set.

A Paskevic service ace and pair of O'Keefe attacks led a Barton 4-0 run for a 13-9 lead, stretching the margin out after a Colby timeout to later lead 19-13 on a Mazurkeviciute attack. Back came the Trojans on a five point spurt to close the gap but Oliveira recorded three straight assisted blocks, teaming with Paskevic, Souza, and the latest with O'Keefe pushing the margin out to four before putting the set away with the final two points.

A slow start to the third had Barton looking up to a 6-1 deficit before clawing their way back into the frame, surging in front by taking five of seven points in a stretch to grab a 17-16 lead. Colby countered with a trio of points until an O'Keefe kill halted the spurt. R. Oliveira stuff at the net knotted things back up with O'Keefe attack and K. Oliveira service ace putting Barton out front for good at 21-19.  The Cougars completed the 8-1 run in taking the set's final four points to grab the match lead at 2-1.

Barton got off to another slow start in the fourth with Colby scoring the first five points, adding a pair of four-pack of points to build the 14-3 lead before Barton began launching its match clinching set comeback.