TAMPA, Fla. [NCAA DIVISION II SOUTH REGION] – The #17 Barry Buccaneers women's volleyball team rallied from two sets down to defeat Lynn University, 3-2 (19-25, 14-25, 25-17, 25-21, 15-6), in a semifinal matchup of the third and second 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 27-5 and advance to play the winner of top seed hosts and fifth seed West Florida. The Knights end their season at 24-6.

Sunshine State Conference (SSC) Player of the Year Diana Akopova provided 33 points for the Buccaneers with 30 kills, a service ace, a solo block and two assisted blocks.

INSIDE THE MATCHUPS:
Final: Barry 3, Lynn 2
Records: Barry (27-5), Lynn (24-6)
All-Time Series: Barry leads series, 32-17, and ends a six-match skid against the Knights; first Buccaneer win in series since October 2018.

SUMMARY:

• 1^st set | Barry hit under .027 in each of the first two sets and it looked like it was going to be over quickly. Jeyhlen Thomas got the night started with a kill. Two straight kills from Paige Barash were followed by another from Thomas. Marija Borcic and Christy Paul each had kills that gave Barry a two-point margin, and then a block for Thomas and Paul put the Buccaneers up 11-8. The Knights benefitted from three Buccaneer errors during a four-point swing to take the lead, 12-11. Monica Mazzoleni had a pair of kills around a pair of Barry miscues for the four-point run that finished the set. | Lynn 25, Barry 19
• 2^nd set | Diana Akopova and Djuly Schmorantz provided kills for two of the first three Barry points with the Buccaneers trailing 4-3 before a 10-0 run for the Knights ended only with a pair of attack errors. Tyanna Butler and Schmorantz had kills but each was followed by a service error. The Knights had a late 4-0 run for their largest lead (21-8) before a kill from Mariana Bertrán. Borcic and Bertrán gathered three more kills to slow down Lynn's momentum heading into the third set. | Lynn 25, Barry 14
• 3^rd set | Kills from Diana Akopova were responsible for four consecutive Barry points and a Thomas put away gave the Buccaneers a 9-6 advantage. Thomas' kill started a 6-0 run for Barry. Kills from Akopova had Barry on top by eight (16-8 and 18-10). Bertrán got to serve out the set as two Knight attack errors gave the Buccaneers their first set triumph against Lynn after losing the regular season meetings, 3-0 in Miami Shores and 3-0 in Boca Raton. | Barry 25, Lynn 17
• 4^th set | Paige Barash had a service ace that capped a 5-0 run for a two-point Lynn lead, 7-5, and Nadia Lindner had a kill before Nikolija Katanic mad it 9-7. From there, Barry had its 6-0 run keyed by kills from Borcic and Akopova followed by four Knight negative plays. Thomas had a kill and a block with Borcic adding an ace and Akopova and Schmorantz earning kills as Barry extended its lead to eight (18-10). Lynn won five of the next six points, and seven of the next nine, but Barry finished with five of the last seven points to even the match at two sets apiece. | Barry 25, Lynn 21
• 5^th set | The Buccaneers dominated the fifth set with an initial 3-0 run, highlighted by Borcic's ace, and a later 6-0 run for a 9-2 lead. Akopova had six kills in the decisive set. Barry worked at an 83 percent success rate in sideouts. Borcic and Thomas combined on a block for the final point. | Barry 15, Lynn 6

• Barry wins its second straight five-setter and improves to 4-1 on the season in fifth sets.
• When Barry took the third set, it marked the first winning set off Lynn since the third set 372 days ago.
• Barry reaches a regional final for its second-consecutive NCAA postseason appearance (2019).
• The Buccaneers beat the Spartans in a five-set regional semifinal in 2019.
• Barry seeks its first regional championship since 2004.
• Kills - Diana Akopova (30), Djuly Schmorantz (6), Jeyhlen Thomas (6)
• Aces - Marija Borcic (2), Diana Akopova (1)
• Blocks - Jeyhlen Thomas (8), Christy Paul (5), Tyanna Butler (4)
• Assists - Marija Borcic (42), Luana Bulara (4), Mónica López (3)
• Digs - Luana Bulara (19), Djuly Schmorantz (16), Marija Borcic (10)

ON THE HORIZON:
The Bucs advance to the championship round of the regional on Sunday, Nov. 20, to play the winner of Tampa/West Florida. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m.