TAMPA, Fla. [NCAA DIVISION II SOUTH REGION] – The #17 Barry Buccaneers women's volleyball team survived a Shark attack and came back to defeat Nova Southeastern University, 3-2 (20-25, 25-20, 18-25, 28-26, 15-9), in a first-round matchup of the third and sixth seeds in the NCAA Division II National Championships South Region at the Bob Martinez Athletic Center on the campus of the host University of Tampa. The Bucs improve to 26-5 and advance to play the winner of second seed Lynn University and seventh seed Florida Southern College. The Sharks end their season at 19-12.
Sunshine State Conference (SSC) Player of the Year Diana Akopova provided 41 points for the Buccaneers with 38 kills, a service ace, and two blocks.
INSIDE THE MATCHUPS:
Final: Barry 3, Nova Southeastern 2
Records: Barry (26-5), Nova Southeastern (19-12)
All-Time Series: Barry leads series, 34-15, and has won three meetings in 2022 and eight of the last 11 with Nova Southeastern.
SUMMARY:
- 1st set | Barry hit just .080 for the set and Nova Southeastern not much better at .111 on just a dozen kills with eight errors. The Sharks never trailed in the set after drawing a 3-0 start on an attack error, a service ace from Preslee Brooksbank, and a kill from Kate Mihacevich. The Buccaneers got on the board on Akopova's first kill. Marija Borcic's kill knotted the score at 5-5, the first of four ties. Christy Paul had a kill to deadlock at 9-9 before the Sharks won five straight and finished the set with that margin. | Nova Southeastern 25, Barry 20
- 2nd set | The Bucs enjoyed a 75 percent success rate on sideouts (15 of 20). Akopova had 13 kills in the set including the final five points for Barry who took five of the last seven from Nova Southeastern. | Barry 25, Nova Southeastern 20
- 3rd set | After a kill from Djuly Schmorantz put the Bucs within one (8-7), the Sharks got a kill from Taylor Stockman and a service ace from Aleyna Kennel followed by two attack errors to win eight of 10 points. Nova Southeastern maintained the seven-point edge during the final run in the set which included consecutive service aces from Kate Mihacevich. | Nova Southeastern 25, Barry 18
- 4th set | Barry had an early five-point lead (8-3) following a kill from Jeyhlen Thomas. Djuly Schmorantz' ace for 14-9 score kept the distance at five points and then a Shark attack error gave the Buccaneers their largest lead at 20-14 and forced a Nova Southeastern timeout. Barry had set point opportunity at 24-23 and again at 25-24, but two straight points for Nova Southeastern gave the Sharks a match point opportunity at 26-25. Akopova saved the Buccaneer season when she chased an errant reception over to the scorer's table and reached across the work area to keep her team in the point. Djuly Schmorantz finished the set with the winning kill. | Barry 28, Nova Southeastern 26
- 5th set | Djuly Schmorantz started as server in the final set and the Bucs drew first two points on Shark attack errors. Akopova put together three quick kills and the Bucs were up 6-2. A block from the pair of Olivia Aniol and Bruna Avila brought the sixth-seeded Sharks within one (9-8) before Christy Paul's kill started a 3-0 run for Barry. Luana Bulara had a service ace to set up match point for Barry, then provided a huge dig that led to Akopova finishing with her 37th kill. | Barry 15, Nova Southeastern 9
NCAA VOLLEYBALL POST-MATCH PRESS CONFERENCE - Barry vs. Nova Southeastern - https://sunshinestateconference.tv/tampa/?bfplayvid=469166
NOTEWORTHY:
- Barry owns a 3-1 record in five-set matches this season.
- The last postseason win for the Buccaneers was also a five-set thriller, an upset over Tampa in 2019 in regional hosted by Lynn.
- Kills - Diana Akopova (37), Djuly Schmorantz (6), Christy Paul (5)
- Aces - Diana Akopova (1), Djuly Schmorantz (1), Tyanna Butler (1), Luana Bulara (1)
- Blocks - Christy Paul (3), Jeyhlen Thomas (3), Diana Akopova (2)
- Assists - Marija Borcic (41), Mónica López (4), Diana Akopova (2)
- Digs - Luana Bulara (17), Mónica López (13), Djuly Schmorantz (9)
ON THE HORIZON:
The Bucs advance to the semifinal round of the regional on Saturday, Nov. 19, to play the winner of Lynn/Florida Southern. First serve is set for 5:00 p.m.
