FORT MYERS, Fla.- It was an emotional night in Suncoast Credit Union Arena on Tuesday, both before the #1 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers game with the Polk State Eagles and during the contest.  Beforehand, the Bucs honored their eight teary eyed sophomores , who came into the game 22-0 in their careers in Suncoast Conference play, but once the ceremony was done, it was on as the Eagles gave the top ranked Bucs all they could handle, but in the end, the FSW sophs stayed unbeaten, winning a 3-0 decision to move to within one win of their second straight undefeated conference championship. 

 

It was a good game early on with FSW leading by just one midway through the first set when a Maria Petkova kill gave the Bucs a 12-10 lead over the Eagles. It started the Bucs on a mini 3-0 run to push their lead to four and they held that margin to 20-16 on another Petkova blast that found the hardwood. Polk never threatened again as the Bucs pushed their lead to five on Petkova's 8th kill of the set and then an ace from the sophomore closed things out 25-19 for the Purple and Aqua to give them a 1-0 lead in the match.  

 

The second set was a different story. Polk raced out to a 4-1 lead to start the set and cushioned their advantage to 11-4 after back to back blocks of Bucs attacks.  A kill from Barbara Koehler got the Bucs back on track and a 7-2 run got them back in the game at 13-11 at the midway point.  Back to back kills from Koehler moments later drew FSW back to within one, but another burst from the Eagles had Polk closing in on the set victory, leading it 20-15. A pair of attack errors by the Eagles opened the door for FSW to get back into it and they invited themselves right in, leveling the score at 21 as Yunju Lee found Koehler on the pin for her fifth kill of the set.  Polk scored two straight to go back up 23-21 and looked like they were going to get another, but a huge dig from Arianna Rossi kept a play alive for the Bucs and they turned it into a point to stay afloat in the period. The Bucs tied the score again at 23 on a kill from Maria Cecilia and a Polk timeout couldn't slow FSW's momentum as Petkova found the floor out of the timeout to make it 24-23 and Cecilia hammered one down on the next point to give the Bucs the set 25-23 and send FSW to the intermission leading the match 2-0. 

 

The third was back and forth early on once again until a kill from Deborah Ribeiro gave the Bucs their first three point advantage of the period at 9-6. Polk fought back to knot the score at 11 before a 6-0 run from the Bucs, jumpstarted by a Fiona Baker to Elissa Alcantara hookup put FSW back in front 17-11. Polk tried one last comeback, drawing to within three at 18-15, but a kill from Petkova gave the Bucs the ball back and Rossi stepped back to the service line and held it for six straight to open up a 24-15 lead for the Bucs.  The Eagles fought off FSW's first match point attempt, but they couldn't fight off the second as Petkova crushed her 19th kill of the night down the line to give the Bucs the set 25-16 and the match 3-0 to close our their 2021 regular season home schedule. 

 

Despite facing a formidable block from the Eagles front line, the Bucs still managed to finish off 46 kills on the night, led by Petkova's 19 which breaks her own program record, set earlier this season, for kills in a three set match.  While Petkova got her work done at the net, Rossi set a record of her own on the backline for the Bucs, notching 22 digs, the most in a three set match in program history. Lee and Petkova each had 10 digs to notch double-doubles, Lee pairing hers with 19 assists in the win.  Ribeiro was in on all five of the Bucs blocks on the night, putting her within a handful of the single season program record as the Bucs head down the homestretch in 2021. 

 

The win is the 17th straight for the Bucs as they tie a program record with their 20th win of the season as compared to just two losses. The Bucs remain unbeaten in Suncoast Conference play at 15-0 and have now won 24 straight conference games dating back to 2019. The FSW sophomore class of 2021 close their careers a perfect 12-0 in conference play at home during their two seasons in Fort Myers. 

 

The Bucs snap a four game winning streak for the Eagles who fall to 8-9 overall and 7-7 in Suncoast Conference play. 

 

The Bucs and Eagles will tango again on Saturday in Winter Haven to close the regular season for the two teams.