Four members of the Barton Community College volleyball team were recently selected to the All-Jayhawk West/All-Region VI Division I squads. Leading the Cougars to a 24-10 season including a trip to the Region VI final four, two freshman and two sophomores were amongst the seventeen member first and second team selections.
Headlining the selections were Carolina Goncalves and Monique Oliveira, two freshmen landing on the first team. Goncalves started the Barton offense throwing up 1059 assists leading both the conference and region while ranking second best in assist per set. The achievement was not only the program's fifteenth best single season performance but ranked eighth in the nation. Also a threat from the service line, Goncalves was one of three Cougars in the top ten in serving ranking fourth in aces and aces per set. Goncalves posted six double-double performances on the year reaching the thirty assist mark in twenty matches with a career high fifty-one coming in a five set victory at region foe Butler Community College.
Joining Goncalves on the eight member first team, Oliveira was one of the top hitters in the region. Fighting through the aches and pains of the conference season, Oliveira remained a main target for Goncalves increasing her effectiveness in the conference season finishing fourth in kills per set at 3.06. Leading the Cougars with twelve double-doubles in the season including a stretch of four straight matches of achieving the feat, Oliveira reached double digits in kills twenty times in her first collegiate season. Hitting .234 on the year, Oliveira recorded a career high twenty-one kills in a four set loss at nationally ranked Highland Community College.
A two-time All-Division I player of the week, sophomore Nathalia Gouveia played an important role to the Cougars' success earning the weekly honor from both the offensive and defensive side of possession. As an outside hitter, Gouveia gave the Cougars a 1-2 punch with Gouveia finishing as the league's third best hitter with 3.26 kills per set recording a career high twenty-six in Barton's victory at Butler. Scoring a fifth best service aces, Gouveia was also a primary defensive back line member having ten double-doubles on the season as her all-around play earned second team honors.
Earning the Cougars' lone post season award last season, Olivia Naccarato was a key component to Barton's front line. Joining Gouveia on the second team and as a two-time conference player of the week, Naccarato also earned her awards from both the offensive and defensive sides. One of the top middle blockers in the region, Naccarato ranked third in both assisted blocks (104) and total blocks (135) while finishing tied for first on the season in blocks per set at 1.29. Naccarato was also lethal from the service line finished third best in both total aces (50) and aces per set .48) as the Cougars finished second as a team in the categories.