November 5, 2023
BACK TO BACK! Bucs Win Second Straight FCSAA State Championship
For the first time in the 54 year history of the FCSAA State Tournament, someone not named Miami Dade has won back to back State Championships. That someone was the Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers on Saturday as the Bucs put together a dominating effort, sweeping the aforementioned Miami Dade Sharks 3-0 to clinch their second straight title, this one all the sweeter coming on their home floor in Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers.
FORT MYERS, Fla.- For the first time in the 54 year history of the FCSAA State Tournament, someone not named Miami Dade has won back to back State Championships. That someone was the Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers on Saturday as the Bucs put together a dominating effort, sweeping the aformentioned Miami Dade Sharks 3-0 to clinch their second straight title, this one all the sweeter coming on their home floor in Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers.
The Bucs couldn't have scripted the start of the game much better as they squared off with their archrivals from Miami Dade in a rematch of both the 2022 FCSAA State Championship as well as the 2022 NJCAA National Championship Game. FSW scored the first three points of the afternoon thanks to back to back aces from Sara Gasparini to start the set and a second ball kill from setter Roberta Purashaj to give the Purple and Aqua a quick 3-0 lead. The Bucs blew the game wide open moments later as they went on a 10-0 run with Alondra Alarcon at the service line, getting offensive production from every spot on the court as Victoria Zibecchi reeled off three kills during the run while three other Bucs registered kills of their own. With the score 16-4 in favor of the Bucs, FSW put it in cruise control as Nina Boledovicova hammerd one to the floor to make it a 20-7 game and moments later a Shark service error sealed their fate as the Bucs took the set 25-14 to go up 1-0 in the match. The Bucs finished the set with 15 kills and a .375 hitting percentage while holding the high powered Shark attack to just a .118 mark.
The Bucs got out to another big lead on the Sharks in the second as Zibecchi combined with both Boledovicova and Izzy Collier for huge blocks to give FSW a 7-2 advantage. After Miami Dade cut the Bucs lead back to two, another midset run for the Purple and Aqua opened things back and up in the blink of an eye it was 14-7 Buccaneers after three straight kills from Alondra Alarcon. Miami Dade made things interesting late with a 4-0 run to draw to within two, but the Bucs weren't going to be denied on their home court on this day as they got another kill from Alarcon to push it to set point before Roberta Purashaj went off the tape for an ace to seal it as the Bucs took the set 25-20 to go ahead 2-0 in the match.
The third set was the most competitive of the night early on as the Bucs and Sharks traded points to a 9-9 tie through the first 18. Boledovicova was in on back to back huge blocks with Sara Gasparini and Roberta Purashaj to put the Bucs up three at 12-9 and they parlayed that into a 17-12 lead later on after Collier smahed one to the ground out of the middle. Smelling blood in the water, the Bucs continued to attack the Sharks, getting a pair of aces from Purashaj and two more kills from Collier to make it 21-13 late in the set. With Suncoast Arena rocking and the Bucs pushing to the finish line, an ace from Anna Marzella gave them 10 cracks at match poiint, but they would only need one as the match ended fittingly on a Purashaj to Alarcon hookup for the winner as the Bucs took it 25-15 to sweep the match 3-0 and begin the Championship celebration.
In a matchup of two of the top offenses in the country, it was the Bucs rising to the top as FSW hit .306 as a team in the win while holding MIami Dade to just a .100 mark. Alarcon shined yet again under the bright lights, finishing with a 15 kill/10 dig double-double while Gasparini just missed one of her own with 9 kills and 9 digs. Purashaj was outstanding as usual, dishing out 36 assists and coming up with 4 big blocks for a Buccaneer defense that finished with 10 as a team in the win. Drawing her first start at libero since opening weekend, Anna Marzella notched a team best 13 digs while Boledovicova had 6 blocks to lead the way for FSW.
At tournament's end Alarcon, Zibecchi, and Boledovicova were named to the Region VIII All-Tournament Team while Purashaj was named the Tournament MVP. Bucs Head Coach Thais Baziquetto-Allen was named the FCSAA State Coach of the Year.
FSW becomes the first team other than the Sharks to win back to back State Championships in the 54 year history of the tournament. The Bucs improve to 26-1 on the year, avenging their only loss of the season to the Sharks late in conference play, while Miami Dade falls to 19-5.
The two teams both advance to the NJCAA Atlantic District Championships on Sunday where FSW will take on Spartanburg Methodist in a 12 PM start while Miami Dade will battle Monroe at 3 PM in a pair of games with NJCAA National Tournament bids on the line.