Justice Lord had a good feeling about his second season with the Barton College volleyball team, which fills the Cinderella role at the NCAA Championship.
The 2015 Hilo graduate remembered the heartbreak but hopeful optimism of last year when the Bulldogs lost to senior-loaded Erskine (S.C.) in the Conference Carolinas tournament final.
A year later with the Flying Fleet in rebuilding mode, Barton defeated them in the conference quarterfinals and Mount Olive (N.C.) in the championship to earn its first NCAA tournament berth in the program’s six-year history.
Barton (23-5) plays BYU (24-4) in the first round on Tuesday at the St.