GREAT BEND, Kan. (BartonSports.com) -The No. 9 ranked Barton Community College volleyball team started its challenging weekend on the right note Thursday evening, sweeping No. 8 Missouri State University-West Plains (25-17, 25-20, 25-17) in the opening night of the Victory Electric Classic.
The victory marks the Cougars third straight sweep improving to 6-0 on the season, while the Trailblazers slip to 1-5 overall.
Barton continues tournament action Friday with a 10:00 a.m. matchup against No. 14 Eastern Arizona College followed by a 4:00 p.m. meeting with Lee College. The Cougars will close the weekend Saturday against No. 2 Miami Dade at 10:30 a.m. before squaring off with No. 11 New Mexico Military Institute at 1:30 p.m.
Balanced production fueled Barton’s victory, as four Cougars posted at least seven kills. Brylynn Wicker led the way with seven kills on a .500 attack, while Indigo Pruitt added seven more at a .364 clip. Stasa Stamenkovic chipped in an all-around performance with eight kills, team high 13 digs and three aces. Caroliny Cristiny contributed behind five attacks on 14 swings.
Setting up the offense, Mileah Neal dished out 17 assists while Ori Briger added 11 and two aces. Libero Mina Kaneko, the reigning KJCCC Defensive Player of the Week, helped anchor the back row adding 11 digs. At the net, Aubrey Olander and Pruitt each collected a solo block while combining for six block assists.
