FORT MYERS, Fla.- The #1 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers won their first match of the day 3-1 over Indian River at the FCSAA State Tournament Saturday at Suncoast Arena in Fort Myers, but dropped a five set heartbreaker for the second straight day, this time to #15 Hillsborough in the third place match to finish in fourth place at the annual event. 

 

After a devastating loss Friday in the state semis to Polk State, the Bucs came out reenergized on Saturday, jumping out to a 16-6 lead on Indian River to begin the first set in the consolation semifinal. They continued to push, taking a 22-10 lead on a kill from Maria Petkova before Yunju Lee hooked up with Maria Cecilia to seal the set 25-12 and put the Bucs up 1-0 in the match.  

 

The Bucs got out to another quick start in the second, jumping on the Pioneers 9-1 after 10 points of action, but Indian River came storming back to tie the score at 14 midway through the period. A kill from Petkova got the Bucs back on track and they never looked back again, finishing off the set 25-20 to go ahead 2-0 in the match.  

 

FSW was in a similar spot less than 24 hours ago, up 2-0 on Polk before things went South and unfortunately it was dejavu for the Bucs in this one as  Indian River raced out to an 8-3 lead and held a sizable advantage until Julia Lawrenz put down a pair of kills to get FSW back to within one late in the set at 17-16. The Bucs were never able to draw even though and the Pioneers used a scrappy defense to finish the set 25-21 to push the match to a fourth set. 

 

The Bucs continued to stumble as the fourth set began, falling behind 11-5 after three straight kills from the Pioneers midway through the set.  Slowly FSW battled back, evening the score at 15 on a solo block in the middle from Deborah Ribeiro. The Bucs pulled ahead by a pair on a couple of kills from Petkova and FSW's sophomore leader banged her 26th kill of the match to the floor on match point to give the Bucs the set 25-22 and the match 3-1. 

 

Petkova's 26 kills shattered the previous program record of 22 and are the second most in a four set match in FCSAA State Tournament history. Lawrenz had a solid day on both sides of the net, finishing with 10 kills on 14 swings wile also notching a team best 3 blocks in the win. Libero Arianna Rossi was big on the back end, pulling up 25 digs, just one off the program's single game record. 

 

 

The win pushed the Bucs ahead to the 3rd place match where they squared off against #15 Hillsborough for the third time this season.  

 

The first was tight early on as the teams went back and forth to a 7-7 tie until FSW not only stepped on the gas, but floored it, scoring 10 straight points with Maiana Coelho at the service line to blow the game open to 17-7. Hillsborough never threatened again as the Bucs closed the set out 25-12 to take a 1- 0 lead in the match.  

 

Just when the Bucs looked like they were in control of the match, the Hawks returned the favor on them in the second.  Hillsborough used a 10-4 run midway through the set to take a two point game to a 20-12 game after a pair of big blocks on opposite pins. They continued to push, finishing off the set 25-15 on their sixth block of the period to even the match at one set a piece.  

 

The roller coaster ride between the Bucs and Hawks continued in the third as again a midset run by FSW had them up 16-10 and in the driver's seat in the set.  A big block from Babara Koehler and Johnasia Carr stretched the Bucs lead to 20-12 and a kill from Elissa Alcantara put FSW on the brink of the win. That came a short time later as Alcantara and Ribeiro teamed up for a huge stuff on the outside, giving the Bucs the set 25-13 for a 2-1 lead in the match.  

 

Hillsborough got out to a 7-2 lead on the Bucs in the fourth and cushioned it to 18-11 later in the period. Just when it looked like a fifth set was a lock, FSW came flying back, going on a 6-0 run to climb all the way back to within one at 22-21. The Bucs had a shot to tie the score, but an attack went into the net to give Hillsborough some breathing room and the Hawks took advantage, scoring the final two points of the set to take it 25-21 to send the teams to the fifth. 

 

Neither team flinched early in the fifth as they went back and forth through the first 10 points to a 5-5 draw.  An attack error by the Bucs allowed Hillsborough to jumpstart a 3-0 run and after an FSW sideout, the Hawks scored four more straight to take a commanding 12-6 lead.  The Bucs never threatened again as Hillsborough used their momentum to seal up a 15-10 win in the fifth, taking the match 3-2 and relegating the Bucs to a fourth place finish.  

 

FSW had 58 kills in the match, but hurt themselves with 26 hitting errors and 6 blocking errors on the night. Alcantara gave her best effort for FSW, leading the team with 15 kills and 5 blocks while Coelho led the Bucs with 23 assists in the contest.  

 

 

The Bucs close the tournament out at 22-4 and will now have their 2021 fate in the hands of the NJCAA Volleyball Committee who will deem whether or not they are worthy of one of the two national at large bids to the NJCAA National Tournament later this month.  The Bucs resume is unquestionably strong with 7 wins over tournament teams on the season and 10 wins over teams ranked in the NJCAA Top 20 during their 7 week run at #1 in the National Poll. FSW will find out on Wednesday whether or not they earned the bid during the NJCAA Selection Show on Twitter. 

 

At the conclusion of the tournament, Petkova and Rossi were both named to the FCSAA State Tournament All-Tournament Team, the second honor in as many years for Petkova.