Barry University Athletics

MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- For second time in three nights, Barry's volleyball team dropped a five-set marathon to No. 22 Tampa. This time the Buccaneers surrendered a two-set lead, falling, 24-26, 26-28, 25-23, 25-19, 15-11, Friday in the Health & Sports Center.

The Buccaneers (14-12, 6-7 Sunshine State Conference will host Saint Leo in the final home match of the season 4 p.m. Saturday on Senior Day. 

The Bucs hit .187 with 65 kills and 30 attack errors. The Spartans (21-6, 11-3) hit .183 with 55 kills and 23 errors.

Ivana Didanovic had 14 kills and six blocks, while hitting .542. She moved into third place on the all-time blocks list, surpassing Fernanda Ferreira. But the history Barry was really chasing was its first win over Tampa in the last 16 matches.

After two sets, the Bucs nearly had it.

Barry built a 21-19 lead in the first set following a kill by Jaeda Allen. Two straight Bucs attack errors put the Spartans ahead 23-22. After a kill by Allen, Tampa's Gen Beaumier answered with one of her own to keep the Spartans up one. But a Tampa service error and two straight kills by Brittany Reynolds gave the first set to the Bucs. 

Barry had 17 kills and hit .212 in the opening set. Tampa hit .149 with 12 kills. 

Jenny Trinidad's 108th career ace gave the Bucs a 15-10 lead in the second set. Tampa pulled within two after a Bucs hitting error. A block by Beaumier and Alexandra Misca moved the Spartans within 20-19. Allen put down the next ball, but the Spartans ran off the next three points to take a 22-21 lead. Reynold blasted down a kill to reclaim the lead for Barry, 24-23. But Allee Stelogeannis put away a kill to move the Spartans back on top, 25-24. After Stelogeannis' block knotted the score at 26-26, Reynolds put away the last two points to end the set again, giving Barry a 2-0 lead going into the break.

Tampa had 12 kills and eight errors in the second set, hitting .091. Barry had 14 kills and seven errors for a .171 attack percentage.

The Spartans rallied in the third set, overcoming a 15-13 deficit following a kill by Didanovic. The Spartans went on a 5-0 run to take control, and held off the Bucs last push when they cut it to 23-22 to win the set. Barry had its best hitting percentage in the third set at .217, but still dropped the set. The Spartans hit .175.

Nicole Dominguez's ace gave the Spartans an 18-12 lead in the fourth set, and the Bucs couldn't recover. 

In the final set, Barry took a 7-5 lead on a kill by Allen. Tampa knotted it up on a kill by Taylor Fosler. The Bucs went up again twice more, the second time on a kill by Didanovic that spotted Barry a 10-9 lead. But the Spartans rattled off the next four points, and the Bucs managed just a kill by Reynolds the rest of the way as Tampa avoided its second straight upset this week. 

Allen had 15 kills, four blocks and an ace. Reynolds had 15 kills. Eva Raat had 11 kills and hit .308. Trinidad had 51 assists and 22 digs. Kat Espinosa had 23 digs, and Ariel Mangum 15 digs.

The two teams battled through 40 ties and 22 lead changes.