CENTRAL, S.C. – Southern Wesleyan volleyball rallied after dropping the first set to come away with a 3-1 victory over Barton on Friday night at Tysinger Gymnasium.

The Bulldogs surprised the Warriors by taking the first set 26-24 but the Warriors bounced back to win the final three 25-10, 25-16, 26-24.  SWU came back from trailing 20-16 in the fourth to earn the victory.

Jacinta Hoffpauir led SWU with 14 kills on a night where all five seniors were honored after the match.  Hoffpauir, a senior, hit .323 in the match while fellow seniors chipped in on the offensive attack as well.  Cherilyn Ramsey collected 10 kills as Courtney Williams added eight and Alysia Cruell chipped in with seven. Senior Tori Wanner collected 11 digs.

Ramsey added a team-high 16 digs to go along with her 10 kills and also had five blocks.  Sarah Hughey added 11 kills and five total blocks, two being the solo variety.  Megan Widener led all players with 42 assists and added five digs and four blocks to go along with three kills.

Both teams traded points throughout the first set with neither team taking a lead larger than three points before Barton pulled away.  The Warriors came out inspired in the second set, jumping out to a 6-1 lead and carried it through with a run of 10-1 to close out the set.

The third set was much like the second as the Warriors led 16-8 and 20-9 after a 4-0 run before closing out the set 25-16.  Barton grabbed the upper hand in the fourth, leading 15-10 before the Warriors tied the score at 15-15.  The Bulldogs pushed the lead out again to 20-16 but the Warriors cam crawling back slowly. 

Two straight points  from SWU cut the margin in half but the teams traded points before the Warriors took three straight to tie the set at 22-22.  Barton fought off set point at 24-23 with a kill by Kaitlyn Micol but Ramsey provided back-to-back kills to close the set and the match.

The Warriors close out the regular season on Saturday by hosting Mount Olive at 2 p.m.

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