MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- For the better part of the first two sets, Barry may have played its best match of the season. Then, before running into the buzzsaw that No. 4 Palm Beach Atlantic has become, they nearly made a furious comeback in the third set before succumbing to the Sailfish Saturday, 25-17, 25-23, 25-19.

The Buccaneers led by three points twice in the second set against the unbeaten Sailfish, but they couldn't put them away entering intermission. PBA rode the momentum into the final set to seal the victory.

 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Palm Beach Atlantic 3, Barry 0
Records: Barry (5-4, 3-4 SSC), PBA (14-0, 9-0 SSC)
All-Time Series: PBA leads 14-12

SUMMARY:

• Barry kept things tied at 16-16 when Brittany Reynolds banged out a kill on a setup from Maegan Cuesta. But the Sailfish ran off the next seven points to take control of the first set. There were nine ties and three lead changes in the opening set. Palm Beach Atlantic hit .407, and had a 64 percent sideout rate. Barry had a .154 attack percentage and 40 percent sideout ratio.
• Barry broke an 11-11 tie when Jaeda Allen slammed down a setup from Alexis Boutin. Brittany Reynolds served the next two points, including an ace to give the Bucs a 14-11 lead and force a Sailfish timeout. But the Sailfish rallied back to take a 16-14 lead before Kristina Filimonova's kill stopped the run. Kishara Gordon's kill tied it up again at 18-18, and Filimonova put the Bucs ahead 20-19 with a kill. Boutin served the Bucs to the next two points on blocks by Filimonova, Genesis Castillo and Gabriela Jansen. That made it 22-19. But PBA raced back to tie it at 23-23 en route to scoring the final five points in the set.
• PBA ran out to a 15-6 lead in the third set, but the Bucs eventually cut it to 21-19 on a Sailfish hitting error. But PBA held on down the stretch.

NOTEWORTHY:

• Filimonova hit .435 with 12 kills, and had four block assists. It was the fifth time she's had double-digit kills this season.
• Allen had six kills to go over 500 in her Buccaneer career.
• Cuesta had double-digit assists for the second straight match, finishing with 12.
• Barry forced 15 ties and eight lead changes in the second set.

ON THE HORIZON:

Barry will host Lynn at 7 p.m. Tuesday.