MIAMI SHORES, FL. – The Barry University volleyball program is 6-0 to start the season for the first time since 1994. After day one of the 2018 Barry University Classic, the Buccaneers added two more W's to this season's total.  The first of two wins came against the Southern Connecticut State Owls in straight sets, as did the second match against the Texas A&M Kingsville Javelinas. Both teams are coming off strong 2017 seasons. The Javelinas went 21-12 and the Owls finished 24-11. SCSU qualified for the 2017 NCAA DII National Tournament.

"The team played well and really improved their play from last weekend at USC-Aiken," Barry head coach Steve Hendricks said. "I believe we were a more polished team today in both games and the players really thrived off of the atmosphere in our building. The crowd was energetic and there is no doubt that our girls fed off of that energy," Hendricks added. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUPS:

Game One Final: Barry 3, Southern Connecticut State 0
Game Two Final: Barry 3, Texas A&M Kingsville 0
Records: Barry (6-0), S. Connecticut (3-2); Texas A&M Kingsville (3-3)
All-Time Series: Barry leads 2-0 against Southern Connecticut State and 1-0 against Texas A&M Kingsville

SUMMARY:
Game one

• 1st set | The Buccaneers ran away with the first set and never trailed the Owls behind the efforts of freshman Tierney Ward. The Darien, Illinois native led Barry with five of her eight kills in the first set, companied with four digs.The Bucs recorded a set-high three aces against the Owls. Freshman Bianca Paşca had both of her aces in the match during the first set.
• 2nd set | Barry out-hit the Owls .286 to .065 with a two-headed monster of Kishara Gordon and Megi Buviníc. Both juniors tallied four kills respectively and combined for an efficient hitting percentage of .461. Buvinic accumulated a dig and a service ace, while Gordon recorded a block. 
• 3rd set | Southern Connecticut showed more resistance in the final set despite having a set-high eight errors. The Bucs defense continues to rise to the occasion on match-deciding sets. Barry tallied a set-high 26 digs in the final set,and held the Owls to a -.023 hitting percentage. Reigning Sunshine State Conference Player of the Week, Audren Rose came up with seven of her 16 digs in the set. 

Game two

• 1st set | The Bucs continued the trend of hard-nosed defense against Javelinas with 12 digs and three blocks in this set. Buvinic recorded six kills on her 12 attacks (.500 hitting percentage) and added three digs.
• 2nd set | Pasca really set the tone for the offense in this set tallying 11-of-her-34 assists. Ward and Gordon were tied for the lead in kills with four a piece. 
• 3rd set | In another final set were the Bucs made life difficult for the opponent on offense, Barry held the Javelinas to a .028 hitting percentage and produced a set-high 16 digs. Rose led the way with eight of her 18 digs in the set.

NOTEWORTHY:.

• Filimonova went 15-0-29 with a .517 hitting percentage and led the team in blocks (7) on the day
• Pasca recorded 61 assists in the two games today.
• Ward led the team in kills today with 19..
• Rose finished day one of the Barry Classic with 34 digs. The game against USC-Aiken marked the first time this season that Barry had two players reach double-digit kills: Filimonova (17) and Buvinic (13).
• The Bucs are 6-0 for the first time since the 1994 season.

ON THE HORIZON:

Day two of 2018 Barry University Classic begins tomorrow at 11:00 AM. Barry will take on Saginaw Valley State at 1:00 PM and Bridgeport University at 7:00 PM. For more information on the 2018 Barry University Classic, click here.