WEEKEND PREVIEW: No. 2 Tampa Returns Home For Pair of Weekend Matchups

Saturday, 4:00 p.m. vs Barry

#2 Tampa

• Similar to their upcoming Sunshine State Conference opponents, Tampa had a successful outing in Orlando for the South Region Crossover Tournament, leaving town with 3 wins as they remain undefeated at 20-0. There are currently 4 Spartans ranked in the top 15 in hitting percentage throughout the entire conference, Jenna Davis,(.438), Mackenzie Dufresne,(.428), Nathaly Perez,(.295), and Kalli Cors,(.279). Perez's remarkable 19 kills against Mississippi College this past weekend is tied for the 4th most all season from any SSC player in a single match. The Spartans will be looking to complete their second and third regular season sweeps over SSC opponents, facing the Fighting Knights and Buccaneers this weekend.

Lynn 

• The Fighting Knights are currently ranked third in the Sunshine State Conference with an overall 16-6 record, after sweeping all three Gulf South Conference opponents at the South Region Crossover Tournament. Lynn is currently no. 2 in the SSC behind Tampa in assists, kills, and digs by averaging 12.62, 13.58, and 16.28, respectively; the Knights are only allowing 1.08 aces per set which leads the SSC. Setter, Emily Edwards is leading the entire conference in assists with a whopping 11.12 per set while teammate, Kenidy Howard, is averaging a hitting percentage of .359 which ranks third across the conference, behind only Tampa's Davis and Dufresne.

Barry

• With an overall record of 8-12, the Buccaneers are coming off of a successful weekend at the South Region Crossover Tournament where they won all three games without losing a set. In their match against Tampa earlier this season, Barry recorded more digs and blocks than Tampa and took down the Spartans in a thrilling first set that had a combined 64 points. Although a down season thus far when compared to last year, Diana Akopova, a junior outside hitter, is leading the entire Sunshine State Conference in kills and points while averaging nearly an entire kill or point more than the next closest opponent with 5.11 kills and 5.81 points per set.