WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - One of the greatest turnarounds in all college athletics has come to an end with the Buccaneers dropping a hard-fought match to No. 11 Tampa 3-1 during the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament. Barry finished last season 10-15 and improved their record by 19 games, finishing the 2018 season at 29-4. It is the program's best record since 2004 and the first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2010. Barry and Tampa were named co-champions of the Sunshine State Conference after each team finished the season 17-3 (0.850) in SSC play and split the season series. Barry fell to the Spartans 25-15, 22-25, 19-25, 21-25 on Friday afternoon inside Rubin Arena on the campus of Palm Beach Atlantic University.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: No. 11 Tampa 3, No. 18 Barry 1
Records: Barry 29-4, Tampa 29-4
All-Time Series: Barry is 17-55 against Tampa
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING:
"It's tough whenever your season comes to an end," Bucs head coach Steve Hendricks said. "We played great in the first game and we weren't able to pull it out in games two, three and four. You have to give credit to Tampa, but nonetheless, my team has had a phenomenal season and I'm really proud of them." The Bucs came out swinging, blocking and passing in that first set, winning it in convincing fashion. Barry recorded four of their eight team blocks in the first frame, Hendricks hinted Tampa made an adjustment the rest of the way. "They have good hitters, they see the block very well. We had their number in game one, but they were able to find some holes in our blocks," Hendricks said.
Freshman Bianca Paşca has been steady all year for the Bucs and that continued tonight with her second consecutive double-double. Paşca finished with 38 assists, 15 digs, five kills and three blocks. "I am really proud of the decision I made to choose Barry University," Paşca said. "My teammates are great players and [even better people]."
Despite the disappointing loss to Tampa, Kristina Filimonova recognizes that the future is bright for Buccaneer volleyball with only one player from the team's current roster graduating. "We didn't expect to play as good as we did at the beginning of the year because we had so many newcomers," Fliimonova said. "I am really excited to have this same team next year. Our playing level is going to be really high and I have high expectations for our team."
SUMMARY:
- 1st set | W 25-15 | The Bucs dominated the net, getting hands on the majority of Tampa's attacks. Anastasiia Samokhvalova had three blocks.
- 2nd set | L 22-25 | Despite out-hitting Tampa in kills 17-13, Barry came up just short in a back and forth set. Filimonova notched seven kills on 22 attempts.
- 3rd set | L 19-25 | Bucs struggled offensively at the net with eight attack errors on 38 attempts in the third set.
- 4th set | L 21-25 | Audren Rose recorded seven of her 23 digs in this set, trying to force a fifth set. Tampa clinched the victory on their second service ace, they had six for the match.
NOTEWORTHY:
- Rose and Buvinic were named to the 2018 South Region All-Tournament Team
- With six blocks against Tampa, Samokhvalova finished the season with 152 total blocks. That is the second-most blocks a Buccaneer has ever had in a single-season.
- Rose adds 23 more digs to her single-season record, she finishes the season with 689 digs.
- Steve Hendricks finishes the season with a 125-104 record as the Bucs head coach. He is now second all-time in wins among Buccaneer Volleyball coaches, passing Leonid Yelin (114-36).
