BOCA RATON, Fla. -- The third-seeded Barry Buccaneers survived a grueling five-set match with defending national champions, the second-seeded Tampa Spartans in the South Region semifinals at the de Hoernle Center on the campus of Lynn University on Friday night. The Bucs took the first two sets by identical 25-18 scores, dropped the next two 25-23 and 25-19, then battled back through seven match points to win the fifth set 21-19.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: Barry 3, Tampa 2 (25-18, 25-18, 23-25, 19-25, 21-19)
Records: Barry (22-11), Tampa (24-9)
All-Time Series: Tampa leads 56-19
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING:
SUMMARY:
- 1st Set - Barry 25, Tampa 18 - The Bucs roared out of the gate, out-hitting the Spartans .375 to .167 with 20 kills to nine. Megi Buvinic had seven kills on just 14 swings. Barry sided out at a 72 percent clip.
- 2nd Set - Barry 25, Tampa 18 - Though the Spartans raised their attack percentage to .267, the second set was more of the same. The Bucs kept the Spartans from gaining any momentum by recording side outs on 17 of 19 Tampa serves. The Bucs score four of the last five points to take the set.
- 3rd set - Tampa 25, Barry 23 - The tide turned in the third set. Though the Spartans' attack percentage dipped back down to .162, the Bucs had theirs fall to .222 and they recorded side outs just 50 percent of the time, letting Tampa build a 12-6 lead. The Bucs actually took a 22-21 lead, but kills by Kamari Potter, Sorel Houghton and Claudia Rivera took the set for Tampa.
- 4th Set - Tampa 25, Barry 19 - The Spartans kept the pressure on in the fourth set, siding out at 78 percent and hitting .400 with 19 kills. Houghton had six kills on just eight swings to lead the Spartans. After Tampa took a 20-17 lead, the Spartans came out of the time out with five of the next seven points to force the fifth set.
- 5th Set - Barry 21, Tampa 19 - The fifth set was by far the tightest of the match, with 18 ties and four lead changes. Neither team led by more than two points at any time in the set. Tampa took a two-point lead, 9-7, on a service ace by Sammy Mueller. After a kill by Kristina Filimonova tied the game at 13-13, the Spartans had seven match points, but the Bucs, who sided out at 78 percent (15-of-19) fought off each one. Trailing 19-18, Barry got another kill from Filimonova to tie. Then, after an attack error by Houghton gave Barry its first match point and Tampa took time out, the set ended on a Mueller ball handling error.
NOTEWORTHY:
- Buvinic and Filimonova led Barry with 24 and 22 kills respectively. Buvinic added 16 digs for another double-double.
- Bianca Paşca directed the Bucs' offense to a .307 attack percentage and 77 kills with a career-high 62 assists.
- Audren Rose had a match-high 23 digs as the Bucs held the Spartans to a .246 attack percentage.
- Kishara Gordon had another fine game in the middle, with 16 kills and .483 attack percentage.
- Anastasiia Samokhvalova had nine kills and seven blocks.
- Houghton led Tampa with 18 kills and SSC Player of the Year Katie McKiel added 16, but the pair combined to hit just .244 with 11 errors.
- Barry advances to the Regional Final for the 10th time overall and the first time since 2004.
ON THE HORIZON:
The Bucs advance to the Regional Final, taking on the winner of Lynn/Saint Leo at 3:00 pm in the de Hoernle Cneter.
