MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- Barry University gave No. 20 Saint Leo all it could Friday night, but it wasn't quite enough as the Buccaneers fell in the home opener, 25-21, 26-24, 20-25, 25-18, in front of 547 fans in the Health & Sports Center.
The Bucs hit .268, putting away 52 kills, while the Lions hit .212 with 48. But even a late surge wasn't enough to give Barry a victory in front of its home crowd.
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INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Saint Leo 3, Barry 1
Records: Barry (3-2, 1-2 SSC), Saint Leo (8-1, 3-1 SSC)
All-Time Series: Barry leads 45-15
SUMMARY:
- Barry's Kristina Filimonova gave the Bucs a 20-19 lead in the first set, but Saint Leo's Brit Sederholm tied it with a kill on the next point. Johanna Voss tied it at 21 for the Bucs with a kill, but the Lions went on a run to put the set away. The opening set featured 15 ties and eight lead changes.
- The Bucs responded from a 15-12 deficit to tie it after a block by Voss and an ace by Brittany Reynolds. Barry went ahead 19-17 on a block by Stassy Samokhvalova and Jaeda Allen before the Lions scored three of the next four points to tie it at 20-20. Following a series of sideouts, Voss put away a winner to tie back up again at 23-23. Allen banged down a kill to keep it squared up at 24-24. But Saint Leo used a kill by Sederholm and a Bucs attack error to take a 2-0 lead into intermission. The second set featured 15 ties and six lead changes in a continuous back-and-forth match.
- Barry got out to a 20-16 lead on a kill by Genesis Castillo in the third set. Filimonova banged a couple kills down the stretch to pull the Bucs within 2-1 in the match. The Buccaneers had 14 kills and one attack error in the third set.
- The Lions raced out to a 16-7 lead in the final set. The Bucs ran off six straight points late in the set to pull within 22-17 on a kill by Allen. Following a kill by Sederholm, Castillo's kill made it 24-18, but Barry gave the next point and the match away on a service error.Â
NOTEWORTHY:
- Allen had 17 kills, and hit .371. Filimonova had 14 kills, and hit .370.Â
- Juliana Tirabassi had a season-high 26 assists.Â
- Voss had nine kills, and Castillo added seven.
- The Bucs outblocked the Lions, 7-1.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING:
"I like how we competed. This was the best match we've played all season. It's only our fifth match."
              -- Barry coach Steve Hendricks
ON THE HORIZON:
The Bucs will host Eckerd at 4 p.m. Saturday in the Health & Sports Center.