12th ranked Cougars survive fifth set holding off Blue Dragons' upset bid #GoBarton

The 12th ranked Barton Community College volleyball team nearly saw its home opener spoiled Saturday evening but dug deep in the decisive set to fend off Hutchinson Community College, earning a 3-2 victory (25-18, 21-25, 29-27, 24-26, 15-8).

Extending their series win streak to six, the Cougars improved to 7-1 in conference play and 20-5 overall, while the Blue Dragons slipped to 3-6 in league action and 11-13 on the season.

Barton continues its six-match homestand Wednesday with a 6:30 p.m. first serve against Seward County Community College.

Offensively, the Cougars hovered around their season hitting average, dipping only in the second set (.143) before recovering to finish the night at .229.

Stasa Stamenkovic led the way with a career-high 27 kills on 65 swings (.292) and 12 digs for her 11th double-double of the year. Caroliny Cristiny followed with 17 kills (.269) and 15 digs to notch her first collegiate double-double, while Aubrey Olander added 11 kills and Paola Batista chipped in eight.

Running the 6-2 offense, Ori Briger dished out a career-best 40 assists and 12 digs for her ninth double-double, with Mileah Neal contributing 26 assists and 10 digs for her third.

At the net, the Cougars totaled 10 blocks led by Olander's six, Batista's five, and Indigo Pruitt's four. Defensively, reigning conference and national defensive player of the week Mina Kaneko anchored the back row with a career-high 34 digs, while Cristiny and Neal each delivered two aces to highlight Barton's seven-ace performance.