Posted: Apr 02, 2021
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.- As most teams do in 2021, the #6 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers have a group chat on their phones to send daily messages throughout the team in the easiest fashion. The title of that group chat; The Road to Missouri, referencing the location of the 2021 NJCAA National Tournament, West Plains, Missouri. After winning the Suncoast Conference Championship and finishing as the Runners-Up at the FCSAA Tournament last week, that road to Missouri was paved for the Bucs on Friday as they defeated Spartanburg Methodist 3-0 to punch their ticket to their first NJCAA National Tournament in program history as the NJCAA Southeast District B Champions.
The Bucs set the tone right off the bat against the Pioneers, getting blocks on each of the first two points of the match to take an early 2-0 lead. Midway through the period an ace from Fiona Baker stretched the FSW lead to four at 12-8 and three straight kills from three different players for the Bucs made it 17-11 later on in the first. A combo block from Kianie Cummings and Maria Petkova followed by a solo block from Baker pushed the lead to eight and FSW finished the Pioneers off with a pair of kills from Julia De Sa to take the set 25-14 and grab a 1-0 lead in the match.
It was all FSW early in the second as they raced out to a 6-0 lead on Spartanburg Methodist. They held that lead until the midway point of the set and stretched it to a nine point lead with a kill from Riley Oglevie down the line. Katie Dickey came in and picked up a kill for the Bucs late in the set and then finished the Pioneers off with an ace to give FSW the second 25-12 to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
The Bucs switched their lineup around in the third and it allowed Spartanburg to hang around for the first portion of the set. It was a one point game at 11-10 after the first 21 points when Victoria Carioba picked up a kill in the middle and a Pioneer attack wide gave the Bucs a three point cushion. Spartanburg came back to tie the score at 16, but it was all FSW from there. A kill on a second ball from Baker broke the tie and with Meg Balogh at the service line, the Bucs scored the next five straight, opening up their biggest lead to that point in the set at 21-16. After a Pioneer side out, three straight kills from De Sa gave the Bucs match point and in one swift swing of the arm from Yasso Amin it was over as the sophomores 59th ace of the year sealed it 25-17 for FSW and sent the Purple and Aqua flying off the bench in celebration. 
It was a work man like effort for the Bucs who saw all 14 players play in the match. The Bucs hit .386 as a team with 10 different players recording kills. De Sa led the way with 14 kills for FSW while Amin had 8 on 11 swings. Oglevie, Baker, and Petkova combined for 12 kills without a single error in the match. Baker dished out a team best 32 assists for FSW while Viktoriya Ivanova led the way with 10 digs and Amin paced the Bucs at the net with 4 blocks.
The win was the 20th of the year for the Bucs who improve to 20-6 while Spartanburg Methodist ends their campaign at 11-12.
FSW captures the Southeast B District Championship with the win, punching their ticket to their first NJCAA National Tournament in program history in two weeks in West Plains, Missouri.
The Bucs will begin their quest for a National Championship on Thursday, April 15th, with their first round opponent in the tournament released along with the rest of the bracket on Monday afternoon.
Stay tuned to @FSWBucs on social media and FSWBucs.com on the web for the latest news and information about the Bucs trip to the Midwest.
