MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- Barry's volleyball team is on the road again -- this time to play the No. 5 nationally-ranked Tampa Spartans and second-place Sunshine State Conference Eckerd Tritons in the Tampa and St. Petersburg areas, Friday and Saturday.
Barry, coming off a 2-1 performance in the Pepsi Bash at the Beach tournament in West Palm Beach last weekend, re-enters the last segment of the first half of SSC play with a 10-7 overall, 3-3 league mark. At 14-2, 7-0, Tampa, the Buccaneers' 7 p.m. Friday opponent, is coming off a five-set win over Eckerd this week. The Tritons (11-7, 5-2) are two matches behind the SSC-leading Spartans in the league race.
Barry caps the weekend trip with a 4 p.m. match at Eckerd in St. Petersburg.
Tampa'a two losses were to top 15-ranked teams, the most recent a three-set setback to No. 14 West Texas A&M on Sept. 8. The Spartans have won seven in a row since that shutout loss.
Danielle Selkridge is Tampa's top player, having put away 192 kills and 58 total blocks, 14 of which are solos. She leads Tampa in both categories, in addition to a club-best attack percentage over .415. Selkridge rankes fifth nationally in NCAA Division II in attack percentage. Jessica Yingling has 170 kills, a team-best 165 digs, and a team-high 19 service aces. Kahley Patrick is the Spartans' primary setter, having collected 614 assists. She is second on the team in digs with 152.
Eckerd setter Madison Burr has 564 assists and 137 digs. Ally McAlvany leads the Tritons with 251 kills, while Lindsay Biggs has 22 entering this weekend's match. Katarina Milojevic has a team-high 51 blocks, and Olivia Fraser has collected 50. McAlvany ranks 23rd in the country in kills per set at 3.88, and 22nd in points per set at 4.41.
Barry's Mima Hajdukovic leads the Bucs in assists with 562, is first on the team in aces with 20. Tania Torres has 185 kills, a .216 hitting percentage and 40 blocks, which rank second on the team. Ashley Carrero's 153 kills are second, and her .261 attack rate is tops among regulars. She's also second on the team with 110 digs and first with a .960 serve reception percentage. Laine Cielena, who earlier this season ranked among the nation's top 50 in blocks but has since fallen out of the top 100, leads the Buccaneers with 56.
Tampa ranks fourth in the nation in hitting percentage, coming into the week with a .282 percentage. Barry is 79th at .208. The Spartans are 20th in blocks per set at 2.38, Eckerd 25th at 2.3, and the Buccaneers 96th at 1.9.
Follow the match vs. Tampa via LIVE STATS and LIVE VIDEO.
Follow the match vs. Eckerd via LIVE STATS and LIVE VIDEO.