MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- Barry University's volleyball team lost to NCAA Tournament-bound Florida Southern, 25-16, 25-14, 22-25, 25-16, Friday night in the penultimate match of the season.
The Buccaneers will host Saint Leo at 4 p.m. Saturday in the season finale. Senior Ashley Carrero will play her final collegiate volleyball match in a contest to be aired on the Bucs Broadcast Network.
Barry (11-16, 4-11 Sunshine State Conference) fought back from a 2-0 set deficit to pull out the third set. The Buccaneers climbed out to a 15-12 lead on Ivana Didanovic's service ace, and then extended the third set lead to 19-15 when Jenny Trinidad put away a winner. Florida Southern (20-13, 9-6) rattled off four straight points, facing set termination, but Brindl Langley's service error sealed the set, pulling the Bucs within one, 2-1.
FSC, which hit .341, came to play in the final set, however. The Moccasins had a set-high 17 kills, hitting .371 in the decisive fourth to win for the first time in their last seven road matches.
Barry, which hit .138, attacked over .200 in the first set when the Buccaneers recorded a .219 clip. Florida Southern hit .452 in the opening set, failing to commit an error to trigger a quick start.
The Bucs were outblocked, 9-2.
Trinidad had 34 assists and two aces. Tashalyn Begon, whose season has peaked at the tail end of 2013, finished with 11 kills and 15 digs. She had one of Barry's five aces.
Langley had 13 kills, and Kate Stromberg 11 for the Mocs, who dug 71 balls. Kendall Marotti had 44 assists, nine kills, 11 digs and an ace.
Jayla Trombley finished with eight kills and 16 digs, and Laine Cielena and Carrero each had seven kills for the Buccaneers. Carrero had 13 of Barry's 61 digs.