Women's Volleyball | 11/23/2002 7:17:00 PM
Box Score TAMPA, Fla. -- Everyone was kept on the edge of their seats as the 19th ranked Barry University women's volleyball team toppled the 16th-ranked North Florida Ospreys 3-2 earlier this afternoon at the NCAA South Region Tournament hosted by the University of Tampa. The Buccaneers fell in the first two games 30-22 and 30-28, but rebounded to win the final three games 30-27, 30-27, 15-11.
In game one, the Buccaneers fell behind early and never recovered as the Ospreys romped the Bucs 30-22. However, in the following game the Bucs took an early 20-11 lead, but the Ospreys found life and went on a 19-8 run to down the Bucs 30-28 in the second game.
The Ospreys committed 13 attacking errors in game three, which resulted in the Bucs winning 30-27. However, it was impossible for North Florida to recover from their early costly mistakes as the Buccaneers controlled game four for another 30-27 victory to send the match into a decisive game five.
With the score tied a 10 apiece in the fifth game, senior
Rochelle Magill sparked a 5-1 scoring run with a kill allowing the Bucs to escape with a 15-11 win in the final game and the 3-2 match victory.
Head Coach Dave Nichols was especially proud for his team for not quitting when on the verge of being eliminated. The source of the motivation, he felt, came from the team.
"I think the motivation came more from the girls," Nichols said. "I don't think that it was coaching as much as the hearts of the players."
Karla Bersano collected 25 kills to lead the Buccaneer charge, while also finishing with a .298 attack percentage, 16 digs and five total blocks including two solo.
Fernanda Ferreira and Magill followed with 11 apiece while Magill finished with a match-high 20 digs.
The Ospreys had four players to register double-digit kills with Kristen Jansen leading the team with 22. She also finished the match with a team-high .400 attack percentage and 18 digs. Lauren Westervelt followed with 16 kills, Heidi Pearson with 12, and Edith Jaworski with 10.
The Buccaneers improved to 18-8 overall eliminating the Ospreys (29-6) from the NCAA tournament for the second straight year. Barry will advance to the NCAA South Regional final for the third consecutive season to face the winner of the Tampa/Florida Southern semi-final match. Game time is set for Sunday at 4 pm.
After the come from behind victory today, Nichols feels his team will head into tomorrow's match with a lot of restored confidence.
"To know that you can dig down and play from the heart is something we really haven't done in a while, but this win definitely gives our team a lot of confidence going into the next match," Nichols said.
