Barton Volleyball brings back win from Colorado, opens conference play Wednesday at home

The Barton Community College volleyball team won their final match of the weekend opening up the 2015 season going 1-3 in the Little Caesar Classic held in Lamar, Colorado.  

The Cougars began their two-day four-match weekend on Friday taking a three set loss to Otero Junior College.   Following a 17-25 opening setback, the young Cougars put it together in the second but fell just short 23-25 before running out of momentum with a 15-25 third set match clincher.  Returning to the floor four hours later, the Cougars and Western Texas College traded sets forcing a deciding fifth set.  Barton took the first and third set by 25-16 and 25-17 scores while the Westerners took the second 25-18 then walloped the Cougars 25-9 in the fourth before winning the match 15-13 in an exciting fifth.

Taking on the host Runnin' Lopes of Lamar Community College in Saturday's first match, Barton was of little resistance in falling 21-25, 19-25, and 16-25.  The Cougars bounced back in for their final match finishing the weekend with a four set victory over McCook Community College winning 25-18, 23-25, 25-16, and 25-14.  

Olivia Naccarato led the Cougar attack on the weekend with forty-four, twenty of those coming against McCook as the Mulvane product combined with fellow freshman's Nathalia Gouveia's fourteen to lead the sixty kill victory attack.  Gouveia finished second on the team totally thirty-two while Hannah Beam and Brooke Joslyn finished their first collegiate weekend with twenty-eight and nineteen respectively.  Solid on the offensive end, Gouveia was also solid defensively as the Brazilian finished with forty-two digs while Libero Lydia Konrade had an impressive college debut with forty-one. Mallory McQueen quarterbacked the attack with 118 assists including forty-six in the final match.

Barton begins a three match homestand starting on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. as the Cougars host Garden City Community College in the conference opener for both teams.  The Cougars will then step out of conference play for the next two matches taking on the junior varsity squad from Bethany College on Saturday before hosting Sterling College JV on Monday.