October 16, 2024
Efficient Attack Powers Bucs Over Santa Fe
The #2 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers looked like a well oiled machine on the offensive end of the net Wednesday night on the road in Gainesville, hitting .420 as a team with eight or more kills from three different players to lead the way to a 3-0 sweep of the Santa Fe Saints to improve to 16-1 on the year.
GAINESVILLE, Fla.- The #2 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers looked like a well oiled machine on the offensive end of the net Wednesday night on the road in Gainesville, hitting .420 as a team with eight or more kills from three different players to lead the way to a 3-0 sweep of the Santa Fe Saints to improve to 16-1 on the year.
The Bucs came out on fire after the long trip up I-75, jumping out to a 6-1 and then 17-3 lead to begin the first set against the Saints. FSW was the first to 20 on a kill from Julija Grubisic Cabo to make it 20-6 and a Santa Fe hitting error close out a forgettable first for the Saints as the Bucs took it 25-8 to go up 1-0 in the match. The Bucs finished with 16 kills in the set and hit .448 while Santa Fe managed just 3 and hit .000.
The second set was a completely different story early on as the teams went blow for blow to begin the set with the score tied at 7 at the 14 point mark. A block from Camilla Brandalise and Abby Toeniskoetter combined on a block to put the Bucs ahead and they never relinquished it again. A kill from Patrycja Labucka put FSW up 13-8 midway through the set and a big block from Toeniskoetter and Giovanna Rocha pushed their lead to six at 20-14 later in the period. Nina Boledovicova ran a perfectly executed slide to give FSW set point and then turned around and did it on the defensive end to seal it as she combined with Magi Milicevic for a stuff to give the Bucs the set 25-20 to go up 2-0 in the match.
FSW played from behind early in the third as Santa Fe came out the aggressors, jumping out to a 7-4 lead on the Bucs. A pair of kills by Grubisic Cabo tied things at 8 moments later before three straight kills from Labucka wrapped around a Saints timeout put FSW ahead 11-8. A Bucs service error jumpstarted a 5-1 run for Santa Fe to give the Saints the lead back, but the Bucs offense bailed them out again as kills from Labucka, Grubisic Cabo, and Sofia Augusto put FSW back in front 15-13. The Bucs continued the momentum with an ace from Nele Broszat to give FSW some breathing room and they sprinted to the finish line, closing out the match with an ace from Anna Marzella as the Bucs took the third 25-17 to wrap up the 3-0 sweep.
The Bucs put up a relentless offensive attack against the Saints, finishing with 43 kills and a .420 hitting percentage while also dialing up 10 aces in the win. Grubisic Cabo notched another double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs while hitting .455 on the pin. Milicevic and Labucka had 8 kills each and hit a combined .433 for FSW. Brandalise racked up 36 assists from the setter position for FSW while seven different players were in on a block for the Bucs in the win.
FSW wins their sixth straight, all by sweep, to improve to 16-1 overall on the year while upping their Citrus Conference mark to 8-1. Santa Fe falls back to .500 at 10-10 overall while seeing their Citrus Conference record drop to 1-7.
The Bucs will continue a long road trip on Saturday when they make the trek to the Fun Coast to take on #16 Daytona State in a matinee affair in Daytona Beach.