Panthers Fall Short Against #18 Barry

MELBOURNE, Fla. – Florida Tech Panthers (4-9, 0-3) fell 3-0 against top #18 defending National Champions Barry Buccaneers (6-5, 1-0) earlier tonight at the
Clemente Center. Barry won all three sets 30-20, 30-24, 30-23 grabbing their first conference win of the year.

Like always, the Panthers always get the fans to come dressed in their best pirate and hawaiin gear to pay homage to the Buc’s Head Coach Dave Nichols.
Despite all the fan fare, Tech once again fell short of the victory.

After each team holding leads twice with in the first six points of the match, the Buccaneers took control with a 7-6 lead and strolled to an easy 30-20
win in the first set. In game two, the Buc’s and Panthers tied on seven different occasions, but Lauren Evans (Fr., Plano, Texas) led Barry on a 5-0 run.
Evans strted the run that returned the Bucs to their lead as they went on to win the second set 30-24. In the final set, the lead exchanged hands on four
different occasions.However, Barry showed their poise and strolled to a 30-23 win and took the match 3-0.

Barry’s Samara de Freitas (So., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Nicole Castera (Jr., San Juan, Puerto Rico) each collected 11 kills to lead the Buccaneers in
the win, while de Freitas hit at a match-high .444 clip. Michele Rosamigila (Sr., Sao Paulo, Brazil) dished out 30 assists and Spenser Rigg (Fr., Honolulu,
Hawai’i) collected a team-high 11 digs.

Tech’s senior outside hitter Jenny Hart (Clermont, FL) collected a match-high 12 digs and led the Panthers defensively, while fellow senior middle blocker
Kelly Currin (Waynesville, OH) registered a team-high nine kills. Sophomore setter Amanda Boyce (Madison, WI) delivered 19 assists to lead Florida Tech.