BOCA RATON, Fla. – These Buccaneers brought some grit and determination, and they left the Boca Raton Invitational with a 2-1 record.

Barry University's volleyball team swept Barton in three sets, 25-21, 25-12, 25-16, in the early match Saturday. The Bucs hit .409 in the second set and .333 in the third, putting away 11 balls in each of the last two sets on 46 total attacks. The Bucs dropped the second match Saturday to Valdosta State, 25-18, 17-25, 25-19, 25-20.

"One of our big focal points was equal distribution," Bucs coach Steve Hendricks said, surveying and noting the stat sheet after the opening match.

Six Bucs had double digit attack opportunities as Barry hit .269 collectively. Kaitlin Drake finished with 12 kills, hitting .556. Laine Cielena and Katie Dooley each had six kills, both hitting over .300.

"We want to be able to move around our offense … so there's no block there," senior libero Brittany Jaco said. "I think that helps a lot when we can move our offense around and get the blockers on the other side confused."

Barry, which left campus early in Saturday morning, trailed 18-13 in the first set. But kills by Kat Espinosa, Dooley and Ivana Didanovic pulled the Bucs within 19-18 after a 5-1 run. Eva Raat's kill, followed by a putaway from Drake and back-to-back aces by Espinosa pushed the Buccaneers up 23-20. Raat banged home one of Jasmine Serna's 15 assists, and Drake put the first set in the books with another kill.

"Our coaches told us … 'We don't want to start off slow,' and, of course, we did," said Jaco, who had 13 of her 25 digs in the opening set. "They had to get on our butt about that. Once they did, and once we realized it, we stepped it up, and it was a big game changer."

The Bucs raced out to a 14-4 lead on a putaway by Drake. With Paola Buitrago serving, Cielena's kill moved Barry ahead, 19-7. Jenny Trinidad set up Espinosa for a 12-point lead, and Didanovic put down the final ball to give the Bucs a 2-0 lead in the match. Barton led 3-2 in the first set before Hendricks inserted Amanda Brill three serves later. Brill made his move look prophetic as she ripped off an ace on her first serve en route to a 6-0 run, culminating in a kill by Drake.

Barry committed seven attack errors in the first set but only five the rest of the match. In the third set, the Buccaneers ran out to a 10-0 lead. Cielena banged home two straight kills to push it to 18-4. Barton recovered to pull within 21-13 on Mariana Kedzia's ace. But Jaco put down a ball, and Dooley sealed the deal with a kill on Trinidad's 16^th assist.

The Bucs had 12 aces, including three apiece by Espinosa, Didanovic and Trinidad. Raat had five blocks, including a solo.

"This is a big win for us," Jaco said. "We really needed this. Showing that we can beat them in three proves a lot, and it's going to be a big start to our season."

Against Valdosta State (2-0), the Bucs rallied in the second set to seize the momentum, hitting .314 while the Blazers had a .133 attack rate. But VSU regained control of the match in the third set to take a 2-1 lead. 

"We never got the momentum in (sets) three and four," Hendricks said. "It's a great match at the beginning of the season to play a team like that. They gave us a battle. We'd be pleased to play them again in the (South Region) Crossover."

Jaco had 22 of the Bucs 61 digs against the Blazers, who hit .161.

"Brittany Jaco had a great tournament, and played well every match," Hendricks said. "She is emerging as the competitive leader of this team."

Lea Jaklen had 10 kills and 11 digs, and Jessica Codato had 32 assists and 14 digs for the Blazers, who outblocked Barry, 9-3. Raat had 11 kills on 30 attacks, Didanovic nine kills on 30 swings and Drake eight kills on 26 attempts. Cielena finished with seven kills, and Dooley six. Serna had 23 assists and Trinidad 17.

"(Assistant coach) Katie (McCrath) and I were talking a lot about fighting," Hendricks said. "It's getting more consistent, but it takes six players. We don't have that yet. It was a good start to the season. It showed us a lot about the potential that we have. Looking forward to playing and practicing more, and getting better and better."

Lynn University Volleyball
Courtyard Boca Raton Invitational All-Tournament Team

MVP: Jessica Codato, Valdosta St. 
Brittany Jaco, Barry
Stephanie Pingyin, Barton
Briana Sandifer, West Alabama
Marissa Tandron, Lynn
Morgan Dulaney, Lynn
Susanna Peonia, Valdosta St.

BOX SCORE

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