Follow
Jonathan Bates | Associate Editor
Some of the best players in Barton program history are concluding the decade with an additional college men’s volleyball honor.
Off the Block announced on Saturday the seven players selected to the Barton All-Decade Starting Lineup presented by Off the Block.
The All-Decade Starting Lineup recognizes the best players to compete with a team since 2010. Similar to the starting lineup for a match, the All-Decade honor is comprised of a setter, opposite and libero along with two outside attackers and middle attackers.
The Off the Block staff determined the All-Decade Starting Lineup using a variety of factors including career statistical performance and the team’s overall success when a player was a member of the program.
This is also part of a series from Off the Block to celebrate the end of the decade in college men’s volleyball. Off the Block throughout the rest of 2019 will release an All-Decade Starting Lineup for every NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball team.
Barton has won 91 matches over the last four seasons, good for a .778 winning percentage. Barton won the ConfCarolinas tournament in 2017 and 2019.
Off the Block is a national award-winning website that was established in 2011 and is the nation’s leader in college men’s volleyball.
Barton All-Decade Starting Lineup presented by Off the Block
Setter: Federico Pagliara
Opposite: Angelos Mandilaris
Outside attacker: Vasilis Mandilaris
Outside attacker: Aleksa Brkovic
Middle attacker: Tanner Medina
Middle attacker: Justice Lord
Libero – Michael McMahon
Coming off the bench – Pierre Tang-Taye, Oscar Fiorentino, Zach McCalla
Federico Pagliara (2014-17)
Awards and honors: 2016 Second-Team All-ConfCarolinas, 2016 ConfCarolinas All-Tournament Team, 2017 First-Team All-ConfCarolinas
The native of Catania, Italy was a four year starter for the Bulldogs, and tallied 3,673 assists for his career, good for a 10.01 assists per game average. In his senior season, he ranked No. 3 nationally with 10.49 assists per game, while Barton ranked No. 5 nationally with a .320 attack percentage. He also ranked No. 7 nationally in 2016 with 10.84 assists per game. His 1,014 assists in 2014 are the most assists in a single season for a Barton player, and Pagliara owns four of the top five single-season assists and assists per game marks.
Angelos Mandilaris (2017-)
Awards and honors: 2017 ConfCarolinas Freshman of the Year, 2017 First-Team All-ConfCarolinas, 2018 Division II National Player of the Year finalist, 2018 ConfCarolinas Offensive Player of the Year, 2018 First-Team All-ConfCarolinas, 2019 Division II National Player of the Year finalist, 2019 All-American Honorable Mention, 2019 ConfCarolinas Player of the Year, 2019 First-Team All-ConfCarolinas, 2019 ConfCarolinas All-Tournament Team
The native of Chalkida, Greece had 1,143 assists in three seasons so far for Barton, good for a 3.97 kills per game average. His 4.40 kills per game ranked No. 2 nationally in 2019, while his .355 attack percentage also led the team. As a team, Barton ranked No. 4 nationally with a .338 attack percentage and 12.96 kills per game in 2019. He had 32 kills in a match versus Belmont Abbey, the most kills by any player in 2019. His 3.97 kills per game in 2018 ranked No. 5 nationally as well and tops for any Bulldog player for a single season.
Vasilis Mandilaris (2016-19)
Awards and honors: 2016 Third-Team All-ConfCarolinas, 2017 First-Team All-ConfCarolinas, 2017 ConfCarolinas All-Tournament Team, 2018 Second-Team All-ConfCarolinas, 2018 ConfCarolinas All-Tournament Team, 2019 First-Team All-ConfCarolinas, 2019 ConfCarolinas Tournament Most Outstanding Player
The older brother of Angelos led the 2019 Barton team with .489 aces per game, good for No. 7 nationally. Barton as a team also ranked No. 7 in aces per game. He finished his Bulldog career with 1,184 kills (3.11 kills per game), 514 digs, and 135 digs.
Aleksa Brkovic (2016-19)
Awards and honors: 2016 ConfCarolinas All-Tournament Team, 2017 First-Team All-ConfCarolinas, 2017 ConfCarolinas All-Tournament Team, 2018 First-Team All-ConfCarolinas, 2018 ConfCarolinas All-Tournament Team, 2019 ConfCarolinas Defensive Player of the Year, 2019 First-Team All-ConfCarolinas, 2019 Elite 23 Award
The native of Belgrade, Serbia showed his true versatility as he started his Barton career as an outside attacker but finished it as a Libero for his senior season. In his three seasons as a starting outside attacker, he had 735 kills on a .315 attack percentage. He led the 2018 in attack percentage and aces per game, while also accumulating the highest kills per game mark in any of his four seasons at Barton. He led Barton in 2017 and 2019 with 1.95 digs per game and 2.65 digs per game respectively; the later mark ranked No. 2 nationally. His 24 digs in a match versus in King in 2017 set the season high for digs in a single match nationally for that season, while his 64 aces and 0.64 aces per game average in 2016 is the best every for Bulldog.
Tanner Medina (2011-15)
Awards and honors: 2015 Third-Team All-ConfCarolinas
Medina’s senior season was where he really came into his own. Medina set personal-best marks for kills, kills per game, aces, digs, blocks, blocks per game, and attack percentage. His 1.16 blocks in that senior season was good for No. 15 nationally and tops in ConfCarolinas; that 1.16 blocks per game average and 138 blocks are the most for a Barton player in a single season.
Justice Lord (2016-19)
Awards and honors: 2017 Third-Team All-ConfCarolinas
The native of Hilo, Hawai’i finished his career with a .395 attack percentage and .241 total blocks. Lord’s best season blocking was in his senior season where he had 1.20 blocks per game. Offensively, his best season was in 2017 where he 123 kills and a.421 attack percentage. Lord holds two of the top five spots in the Barton record book for most blocks in a single season.
Michael McMahon (2014-15)
Awards and honors: 2014 ConfCarolinas Defensive Player of the Year, 2014 First-Team All-ConfCarolinas, 2014 ConfCarolinas All-Tournament Team, 2015 ConfCarolinas Defensive Player of the Year, 2015 First-Team All-ConfCarolinas
The Pepperdine transfer finished his two-year career with 730 digs good for a 3.12 digs per game average. He led the nation with 3.20 digs per game nationally in 2014, while his 3.05 digs per game average in 2015 were good for No. 3 nationally. It goes without saying that these are the best two seasons in Barton history in terms of digs and digs per game.