WINTER HAVEN, Fla.- In the matter of just three years, the Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers have gone from the new kids on the block to the undisputed top team in the Suncoast Conference as the top ranked Bucs went on the road and finished off their second consecutive undefeated conference season on Saturday, defeating Polk State 3-0 to head into the playoffs on an 18 game winning streak.  

 

As expected, it was a dogfight from the start between the Bucs and the Eagles as the two teams traded points early on to a 7-7 tie after 14 points of play in the first set. A big block from Deborah Ribeiro and Maria Cecilia, followed by an ace from Maria Petkova pushed the Bucs in front and moments later Yunju Lee found Julia Lawrenz in the middle for a kill to push the FSW lead to 17-12. Polk never threatened again, closing to within three for only a moment before FSW opened things back up and finished them off 25-17 on back to back kills from Barbara Koehler and Maria Cecilia to give the Bucs a 1-0 lead in the match.  

 

The beginning of the second was a mirror image of the first as the team teams were once again knotted at 7 to get things going.  This time though, it was Polk pushing ahead at the midway point, taking a 13-11 lead on the Bucs after a tip that found the back line.  A block from Petkova and Ribeiro got the Bucs back on track and they went on a 4-0 burst to retake a 15-13 lead.  They continued to go back and forth and after a block by the Eagles, the game was tied again at 21.  The teams traded points to 22-22 before Koehler took things over for FSW, picking up three kills on the final four points of the period to give the Bucs the set 25-23 to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.  

 

The Bucs momentum went out the window to begin the third as a rash of hitting errors put them in an 8-3 hole. They slowly battled back and a solid stand at the service line by Arianna Rossi got them back into the set as an ace by the freshman drew them to within one and a kill from Elissa Alcantara leveled the score at 11 midway through the period.  Both sides continued to throw haymakers to 15-15 before a kill and a big block from the Eagles pushed Polk back ahead 17-15.  Fiona Baker found Cecilia on the right side to get the Bucs the ball back and Ribeiro did the rest from there at the service line.  Her powerful serve resulted in back to back aces to tie the game at 17 and then put the Bucs up by one 18-17 to force an Eagle timeout. After a Polk hitting error continued the Bucs run, Ribeiro dialed up two more aces to stretch the FSW lead to 21-17.  The Bucs kept the Eagles at arm's length to 23-19 but their first service error of the afternoon came at an inopportune time to allow Polk to within three at 23-20. A kill from Petkova erased any thought of a comeback for the Eagles and another one from the sophomore finished things off as the Bucs took the set 25-22 to sweep the match 3-0. 

 

The Bucs finished with 44 kills in the win, but committed a season high 29 hitting errors, to hit just .115 on the afternoon.  Baker notched a double-double with 21 assists and 12 digs while Koehler led the Bucs in kills with 13 and Rossi paced the back row with 16 digs.  Ribeiro contributed in all facets in the win, hammering down 7 kills and notching 3 blocks, while also adding a career high 5 aces.  

 

The Bucs set a new program record with their 21st win of the season, improving to 21-2 overall while finishing league play a perfect 16-0.  Polk drops its third straight to close the regular season, finishing 8-11 overall and 7-9 in conference play, good for 5th place.  

 

FSW will have two weeks off before taking the court again on November 5th at the FCSAA State Tournament in Suncoast Credit Union Arena.  As the #1 seed, the Bucs receive a first round bye and will take on the winner of the Hillsborough/Polk State first round matchup in the semifinals Friday at 4:00 PM.