MIAMI SHORES, Fla. —  A dominating performance for the ninth-ranked Barry Buccaneers as they sweep Nova Southeastern from the Health and Sports Center to open Sunshine State action on Friday evening. This is a full-turnaround and shows to be promising as the last three matchups all went to five sets. It marks the first sweep against the Sharks since 2022 and is the 24th sweep overall in the series.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: #9 Barry 3, Nova Southeastern 0
Records: Barry (8-0, 1-0 SSC), NSU (7-3, 0-1 SSC)
All-Time Series: Barry leads 38-14

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Set One - It was all Barry to open up the match, the Buccaneers went on a 5-1 run that forced and early Shark timeout. Sofya Sinkova subbed in and immediately went to work with a block and extended the lead to 7-2. NSU made a late comeback, slowly chipping away and made it a one-point game trailing 20-21. A service errors flipped in favor of Barry and they went on a 4-1 run to end the set and take the match lead. Ivana Žujovic paried up with Valeriya Kozlova and Veronika Eremeeva for back-to-back blocks, then Kozlova laid down the hammer and put it away. | Barry 25, NSU 21
• Set Two - The offense really turned it up in set two with Kozlova and Eremeeva leading the way. Kozlova had seven kills and hit .400 while Eremeeva had five kills on six attempts for a .667 hit percentage. The Sharks took the early set lead at 3-1, Kozlova then helped flipped the scoreboard with two kills and an attacking error from NSU. With the set going back and forth, the Bucs gained space with a full team effort as a 5-2 run came by scoring in every way, Eremeeva had a kill and an ace, while Ester Pushkarov threw a block party with Sinkova and Varvara Osychenko. A 7-1 run gave Barry a 10-point set win. The Bucs outhit the Sharks .458 to .040. | Barry 25, NSU 15
• Set Three - The momentum continued to roll for the Buccaneers, the score did not reflect the atmosphere in the Health and Sports Center. After an 8-8 tie, a 6-1 spread set apart Barry at 13-9. Barry defense locked in for five and half blocks. Kozlova led the way with three in the set and tacked on six kills. Petra Brkicic had 11 assists on the 14 kills adding a kill herself. The Buccaneers hit .375 and denied the Sharks plenty to run them into the negatives at -.029. | Barry 25, NSU 15

NOTEWORTHY:

• Valeriya Kozlova led the team with 17 kills and hit .256 on the night.
• Petra Brkicic held the setting role for most of the match and collected 22 assists, a kill, and six digs. 
• Veronika Eremeeva had an efficient game with eight kills on 16 attempts hit .375 with four service aces, three digs, and three blocks.
• Eremeeva had her sixth career four service ace match.
• Ivana Žujovic led the defense at the net with five blocks.
• Gaia Riedmüller led the backrow with 12 digs.
• This is the sixth 40-plus kill game this season.
• Statistically, the Bucs led in all categories, dominating in blocks 13-5.

UP NEXT:

The Buccaneers will hit the road for a top-10 matchup as they head to Boca Raton to play top-ranked Lynn.