MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- Barry's volleyball team will host Florida Southern and Saint Leo Friday and Saturday, respectively in a pair of Sunshine State Conference matches.
Friday's match with Florida Southern is set for 7 p.m., while Saturday's matinee is set for 4 p.m.
The Buccaneers (11-10, 3-5 SSC) lost to the Mocasins (15-9, 5-3) in the first meeting in Lakeland, but Barry gave Florida Southern a four-set battle. Barry pushed the Mocs to a 26-24 third-set loss after winning the second to even the match at 1-1.
Florida Southern's Kate Stromberg has 256 kills, averaging 3.24 per match. She is hitting .204 this year, and is the team leader in digs with 251. Anne Pietkiewicz has 252 kills, while hitting .216. Gabby Fernandez is another top hitter for the Mocs, having put away 238 balls this season. Setter Ali Skayhan is averaging 10.02 assists per set while leading Florida Southern with 872 total assists this year.
Saint Leo is 10-10 overall, 2-6 in the conference. The Lions beat Barry in another highly-competitive four-set match in Saint Leo in September. The Lions are 4-7 overall since that time. Sami Vierk leads the Lions with 199 kills and 60 blocks in a 6-2 or interchangeable setter-type offense. Jaclyn Mailoto and Abby Lovell have 799 assists between the two of them, Mailoto collecting 422 to this point in the season. Meghan Donovan has 175 kills and 56 blocks. Molly Alexander has a team-high 287 digs, averaging 3.83 per set.
Barry is hitting .206 this season, while its opponents are attacking at a .184 percentage. The Bucs are outblocking teams 157.5 to 127.5 this year. Barry has won 43 of the 83 sets they've competed in this year. They've outscored teams, 1816-1809.
Tania Torres' 3.03 kills per set leads the team. Jasmine Serna's 3.91 digs per set also is tops for the Buccaneers. Mariana Lisboa is one of the team's most steady serve receive leaders with a .927 percentage, while Ashley Carrero (.957) and Serna (.942) also have shown the most consistency in the back row. Laine Cielena has a team-high 68 blocks.