Women's Volleyball | 9/27/2018 11:46:00 AM

MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – The Buccaneers are on the verge of cracking the AVCA Coaches Poll after splitting matches last week against No. 3 Palm Beach Atlantic and Eckerd. Barry (13-1, 5-1 SSC) received 49 votes this week when the poll was released on Monday and would most certainly earn a spot in the rankings after a pair of wins this weekend. First on Friday, the Buccaneers take on the Rollins Tars (3-10, 1-5) and then on Saturday, the No. 8 Tampa Spartans (13-1, 6-0 SSC) make their way over to Miami Shores. Barry and Tampa are among the leaders in the SSC for many statistical categories. Tampa (.289) leads the conference in hitting percentage, with the Buccaneers coming in second - .261. 

Both matches can be seen on the Buccaneer Broadcasting Network and live stats are available as well.

BUCS WANNA KEEP ON ROLLIN
The Bucs are 36-26 all-time against Rollins coming into their first matchup this season. The Tars have already faced four ranked opponents this season, including the 2017 national champion, Concordia - St. Paul. Rollins has done a good job limiting block opportunities for the opponent this season. They're currently third in opponent blocks among SSC teams, allowing only 1.39 blocks-per-set. It will be interesting to see how Bucs middle-blocker Anastasiia Samokhvalova will fare against the Tars' attackers. Samokhvalova is on a tear recently with 29-of-her-39 blocks coming in the last six matches. The Russian native is leading the SSC in blocks-per-set during conference play with 1.45.

THIS. IS. THE SHORES.
After remaining undefeated in the Sunshine State Conference with a perfect 6-0 record, the University of Tampa volleyball team tabbed the No. 8 spot in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association Division II coaches poll as announced by the association office, Monday. The Spartans' 13-1 start is the best since the 2014 season. The offensive prowess is a lot in part to the sophomore duo, Katie McKiel, and Sorrel Houghton, who are stride for stride with one another so far this season. McKiel has 183 kills and a .267 kill percentage and Houghton has 180 kills and a .267 kill percentage.