MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- It was an electric day at the Health and Sports Center as the Buccaneer women's volleyball delivered history taking down the top-ranked team in the country for the third year in a row. Barry swept their double header, taking down Converse first in the early match via a sweep. Then, the night cap was the top-15 showdown where the Bucs took the five-setter over no. 1 St. Cloud State in a rowdy 'Black Out' night at the HSC Gym.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: #13 Barry 3, Converse 0
Records: Barry (2-2), Converse (1-3)
All-Time Series: Barry leads series 1-0
SUMMARY:
- Set One – It was a great start to the first home match of the season, as the Bucs rallied off seven straight points. It was an easy going first set where the offense hit .500, on 13 kills and just two attacking errors. Veronika Eremeeva and McKayala Theleus had four kills in the set. | Barry 25, Converse 11
- Set Two – Eremeeva stole the show in the second set where she rallied off four straight service aces, which gave the Bucs the momentum to flip the scoreboard. Valkyrie errors help aid the Bucs close out the set. Barry mustard up three blocks and five service aces to help boost them to the 2-0 match lead. | Barry 25, Converse 17
- Set Three – Another hot start pushed the Bucs forward in the third set. Thalia Iglesias held serve for five straight Buccaneer points, collecting an ace and directing the offense with three kills in the mix. Converse had a late run to tie things up at 13 all, but a four-point run had Barry cruising to the finish line. The defense put up four blocks, while Barry had another five aces in the set, Eremeeva leading with three. | Barry 25, Converse 18
NOTEWORTHY:
- Veronika Eremeeva set a new career-high with seven service aces in the match, that ties for sixth best in a single match in Bucs history.
- Eremeeva sits at sixth all-time in Buccaneer history with 116 career service aces.
- McKayla Theleus led with 11 kills, swinging .348, adding an ace, a dig, and two blocks.
- Petra Brkicic led the offense with 18 assists and two service aces.
- Alondra Lebron held the backrow with 10 digs.
- The Bucs dominated in service aces 13-3 and blocks 8-3.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: #13 Barry 3, #1 St. Cloud State 2
Records: Barry (3-2), St. Cloud State (6-1)
All-Time Series: Barry leads series 3-0
SUMMARY:
- Set One – In a loud HSC Gym, the match started with an attacking error from the Huskies to set the early tone. Varvara Osychenko got the offense going with the first kill of the match for the Bucs. It was a back-and-forth affair, Barry turned the scoreboard around down two to up two as Valeriya Kozlova rallied off three kills and added block paired with Ivana Zujovic. The Bucs were able to keep their distance on the board and close out the first set with a block from Zujovic and Eremeeva to take the match lead. Barry out-blocked SCSU 4-0 in the set and swung .538. | Barry 25, SCSU 21
- Set Two – Barry started out in a hole, as SCSU opened with four straight points. Down by as much as five, the Bucs slowly started to creep back into it and were able to tie the set up at 17-all. SCSU was able to regain their lead at 22-19 and were set on tying the match up. But the Bucs had other plans and finished on a 6-0 run and closed it out with back-to-back blocks. Both teams relied on defense and had four blocks in the set. | Barry 25, SCSU 22
- Set Three – The block party continued as Layla Pelly and Kozlova team up for two straight out the gate in set three. Despite hitting .394 and not committing a single attacking error. the Huskies held a four-point spread late in the set that helped them prevail to the start of their comeback. | SCSU 25, Barry 19
- Set Four – The fourth set seemed to be trending in the same direction, but both teams battled it out and force a win-by-two situation. A service ace ultimately helped push the match to the fifth set. | SCSU 28, Barry 26
- Set Five – Things did not start in favor of the Bucs falling behind 5-1. But the heat turned up when the student-athletes all merged together in one section of the HSC and brought the spirit back into the mach. McKayla Theleus helped fuel the section with two kills. The Zujovic added a kill and a block herself that flipped the scoreboard and forced a Huskies timeout. SCSU found their way back into it and tied it up at 14 to push another win-by-two set. Ultimately it was the defense that came through for the Bucs as they closed the set on back-to-back blocks to take down the top-ranked Huskies. | Barry 18, SCSU 16
NOTEWORTHY:
- Kozlova had 22 kills and a career-high seven blocks in her first start of the season.
- Varvara Osychenko had her third double-double of the season with 11 kills and 11 digs.
- Eremeeva rounds out the offense in double figures with 13, hitting .480 and adding three block assists.
- Ivana Zujovic ties her own record of most block assists in a match with 11.
- The Bucs had a season-high 16 blocks in the match, out-blocking SCSU by nine.
- St. Cloud State led in every other category.
- It is the third straight year the Bucs take down the no. 1 seed, the first at home.
- Barry has won all three matchups against the Huskies.
ON THE HORIZON:
Barry will close out the Buccaneer Invitational with a 2:30 p.m. match against Lubbock Christian.
