HOOVER, Ala. -- The #17 Barry University Buccaneers women's volleyball defeated Auburn Montgomery in straight sets (25-17) (28-26) (25-16) on Friday evening at the Finley Center in Hoover, Alabama, in the opening set of the South Region Crossover. All eleven Sunshine State Conference teams will compete against the Gulf South Conference members during the two-day South Region Volleyball Crossover.
INSIDE THE MATCHUPS:
Final: Barry 3, Auburn-Montgomery 0
Records: Barry (16-1, 8-1 SSC), Auburn-Montgomery (11-12, 5-4 GSC)
All-Time Series: Barry leads 3-0
SUMMARY:
- 1st set | The Bucs took advantage of a couple of Warhawks' attack errors and strung together four-straight points after a kill from Diana Akopova and a service ace from Luana Bulara for an early 9-4 edge. Two more kills from Akopova, the reigning AVCA National Player of the Week, and a service ace from Mónica López gave Barry its second-best streak of the set and a 16-10 score. | Barry 25, Auburn-Montgomery 17
- 2nd set | A back-and-forth middle set featured 15 deadlocks and neither team getting more than a three-point cushion. After the Warhawks took a 14-12 lead, an attack error put the service in Bulara's hands and Akopova drilled a winner while Djuly Schmorantz put the Bucs back on top. Barry saved its only set-point against with a kill from Schmorantz. | Barry 28, Auburn-Montgomery 26
- 3rd set | Marija Borcic began a four-point swing for the Bucs who had trailed by three (6-3) for the only time tonight. Barry finished the set and the match with its final four-point streak on a pair of kills each from Marina Azevedo and Jeyhlen Thomas. | Barry 25, Auburn-Montgomery 16
NOTEWORTHY:
- Akopova totaled 19 kills on 48 swings and Thomas also reached double-digits with 10 kills on 18 attempts.
- Borcic totaled 39 assist, which led to a team .287 hitting percentage.
- Barry had six service aces led by three from Bulara.
- Bulara had a Buccaneer best 17 digs while Schmorantz's defensive efforts contributed a dozen digs.
- Defensively, Tyanna Butler led with three blocks. Akopova and Thomas both had two.
ON THE HORIZON:
The Bucs return to the Finley Center on Saturday for two more matchups with Gulf South opponents - Mississippi College (12:15 p.m. ET) and #13 West Florida (8 p.m. ET).
