August 20, 2023
#1 FSW Flexes Muscles in Sweeps On Final Day of UFirst Invitational
It may be a new look roster for the #1 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers this season, but the 2023 version of the Purple and Aqua put the country on notice once again on Saturday, hammering 2022 National Tournament participant Central Wyoming 3-0 before taking it to #5 Salt Lake on their home floor in another 3-0 sweep to close the weekend a perfect 4-0 at the UFirst Intermountain Invitational.
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah- It may be a new look roster for the #1 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers this season, but the 2023 version of the Purple and Aqua put the country on notice once again on Saturday, hammering 2022 National Tournament participant Central Wyoming 3-0 before taking it to #5 Salt Lake on their home floor in another 3-0 sweep to close the weekend a perfect 4-0 at the UFirst Intermountain Invitational.
It was a National Tournament rematch from 2022 in the Bucs opening game on Saturday as they squared off with the Rustlers of Central Wyoming. Early on the Rustlers gave the Bucs all they wanted as the two teams found themselves deadlocked at 13 midway through the set in the early morning start. A kill from Alondra Alarcon gave the Bucs the lead and spurred FSW on a 9-0 run with Victoria Zibecchi at the service line to put the Bucs in the clear 22-13. A block from Nina Boledovicova and Anica Bobic pushed FSW to set point and Roberta Purashaj found Alarcon for a kill to close it out as the Bucs took the first 25-15 to go ahead 1-0 in the match.
The second was all FSW from the jump as the Bucs scored the first five points of the set highlighted by back to back kills from Izzy Collier and opened up an 8-1 lead after back to back aces from Anna Marzella. Abby Toeniskoetter put one away on an overpass from the Rustlers to make it 19-5 and Zibecchi finished Central Wyoming off with a cross court rocket to give the Bucs the set 25-6. The numbers were eye popping for the Bucs in the second as they finished off 17 kills on just 29 swings, good for a .552 team hitting percentage.
The Bucs again grabbed control early in the third as they looked to complete the sweep as Luana Vieira dialed up an ace and Camila Brandalise found Alarcon for her ninth kill of the match to give FSW a 10-5 lead to begin the period. Central Wyoming made a push to wake the Bucs up midway through the set before FSW closed the set on a 10-2 run to take it 25-14 to take the match 3-0.
FSW was unstoppable offensively in the win, hitting .357 as a team with 46 kills. Alarcon notched yet another double-double with 13 kills and 12 digs while Bobic followed suit with 11 kills and 12 digs. The Bucs three middles, Collier, Boledovicova, and Toeniskoetter combined for 14 kills and just 1 error and a .467 hitting percentage. Purashaj ran her offense to perfection, dishing out 34 assists while connecting 49% of her sets for kills.
The Bucs win set up a final showdown in the tournament as #1 FSW squared off with the hosts and #5 Salt Lake in their last action of the weekend.
After scoring the first two points of the match, the Bucs hit a rut as Salt Lake raced out to a 12-5 advantage midway through the set. Back to back blocks from Boledovicova and Purashaj got the Bucs back on track and they would use the momentum to go on a 9-1 run, capped by another block by the Bucs European duo to put FSW in front 14-13. Once the Bucs got rolling downhill there was no slowing them down as a kill from Purashaj on a second ball put them up 19-16 and they went on to take the set 25-20 to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
The second was all Bucs early on as FSW jumped out to a 6-1 lead and led it by four at the midway point 12-8 after a solo block from Collier. Salt Lake got back to within one at 14-13, but three straight kills from Zibecchi, Alarcon, and Sara Gasparini cushioned their lead to 19-14 and they never looked back from there as an ace from Boledovicova sealed it 25-16 to give the Bucs a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
The Bucs got off to a slow start in the third, but quickly recovered, going on a 11-2 run to take a 12-5 lead midway through the set. Back to back kills from Alarcon kept the lead at six before a 5-0 jaunt capped by an ace from the Bucs sophomore stretched the lead to 21-13. The Bucs closed things out strong as Gasparini smacked one to the middle of the floor in front of the Salt Lake defense to seal it as FSW took the third 25-13 to sweep the match 3-0.
The Bucs offense had 15 or more kills in each of the three sets, finishing with 46 and a .299 hitting percentage. Alarcon finished a monster match with 17 kills and 14 digs while Purashaj joined her with another double-double, going for 34 assists and 10 digs. Gasparini and Boledovicova went errorless in 24 swings, combining for 14 kills and a .583 hitting percentage.
At tournament's end, Alarcon was named the Most Valuable Player after averaging 4.00 kills and 3.75 digs per set over the weekend while Purashaj was named to the All-Tournament team after putting up 10.83 assists per set quarterbacking the tournament's top offense.
FSW begins their Title defense campaign a perfect 4-0 with four sweeps in Utah.
The Bucs are back in action next weekend at home when they host the Adventures in Paradise Battle at the Beach when they welcome in a trio of Nationally ranked opponents. Bucs fans will get their first chance to see them at home on Friday at 12:30 PM when FSW hosts in state foe Palm Beach State in Suncoast Credit Union Arena.