JACKSONVILLE, Fla.- Less than 24 hours after they had learned that they had qualified for the FCSAA State Tournament, 300 miles away in Jacksonville, the FSW Volleyball team was locked in the heat of competition at the tournament, which brings us another glimpse back in our 'On This Date in FSW Athletics History' series, one year ago, the Bucs bringing home their first State Tournament victory.
After an opening round loss to #13 Hillsborough, the Bucs squared off against the host, Florida State College at Jacksonville, with their season on the line. They started strong, jumping out to an early lead and never looking back in the first, coming out on top of a 25-17 decision to take a 1-0 lead in the match. The second was nip and tuck most the way before the Bucs fell apart late to let the Blue Wave knot the match up at 1-1 with a 25-19 victory. The Purple and Aqua regrouped and got off to a good start in the third and held on late 25-22 to grab a 2-1 lead in the match before dominating the fourth 25-19 to win their first State Tournament match in program history.
A day later, the Bucs outlasted #14 Central Florida in a five set thriller to advance to the tournament's Final Four before seeing their season come to an end at the hands of Hillsborough to finish 4th.
Stay tuned FSWBucs.com and @FSWBucs on social media later this month as we continue our trips back in time to relive some of the top moments in FSW Athletics history.