MIAMI SHORES, FL. – Swing after swing, blow after blow, Barry and Tampa put together an epic match on Saturday afternoon inside a tense and loud Health & Sports Center.

In what felt like a 12-round heavyweight battle between the top two teams in the Sunshine State Conference, the Barry Buccaneers (14-2, 6-2 SSC) came up short against the University of Tampa (14-1, 8-0) 3-2 in Miami Shores on Saturday afternoon. The Buccaneers fell 17-25, 25-20, 24-26, 26-24, 11-15.

The Buccaneers have taken pride in their passing and defense this season. After today's match, Barry is yet to allow an opponent to hit over .200 in 16 matches. After the first set, the Bucs clamped down on defense and turned the style of play during the match in their favor. Tampa hit .438 in the first set but was held to a .148 hitting percentage for the remainder of the match.  

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Game One Final: #8 Tampa 3, RV Barry 2
Records: Barry (14-2, 6-1 SSC), Tampa (15-1, 8-0 SSC)
All-Time Series: Barry is 16-54 against Tampa

SUMMARY:

• 1st set | L 25-17 | Tampa jumped on the Buccaneers in the first set, building a ten point lead at 20-10 that led to a Barry timeout. The Spartans hit an alarming .438 which is out-of-character for the Bucs who lead the SSC in opponent hitting percentage (.109).
• 2nd set | W 25-20 | However, the Bucs answered right back, opening the set with the first three points. Later, a 6-0 run led by Bianca Paşca's service game gave Barry a 16-12 lead. Pasca picked up three aces during the Bucs run. 
• 3rd set | L 26-24 | Both teams buckled down defensively and offensive numbers started dipping. Barry and Tampa finished the set with 23 digs, respectively.
• 4th set | W 26-24 | As we got closer to a finish, both teams picked up their level of play. This set included five lead changes and 11 ties. Bucs put the set away with a pair of big smashes by Megi Buvinic and Kishara Gordon.
• 5th set | L 11-15 | Tampa forced Barry to call timeout with a 13-9 lead and finished the match when play resumed. Spartans setter, Sammy Mueller assisted on seven-of-their-nine kills in the set. 

NOTEWORTHY:.

• Anastasiia Samokhvalova set career-highs in kills (12) and blocks (9) against Tampa. 
• Pasca recorded her fourth double-double of the season (45 assists/16 digs) and tied a season-high with five aces. 
• Kristina Filimonova reached 19 kills for the second consecutive match (season-high).
• The Buccaneers finished the match with three players notching a double-double.

ON THE HORIZON:

The Buccaneers will continue their six-game home-stand on Tuesday, October 2nd against Lynn University. The match is set for 7:00 pm at the Health & Sports Center.