Posted: Aug 18, 2023
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah- The #1 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers began their title defense season with a pair of impressive wins on Friday, downing #16 Snow and traditional power Southern Idaho in 3-0 sweeps at the UFirst Intermountain Invitational in Salt Lake City.
FSW Head Coach Thais Baziquetto-Allen couldn't have drawn up much of a better start to her Bucs' season as the Purple and Aqua raced out to score the first seven points of their opening match against #16 Snow to take an early touchdown lead on the Badgers. Snow made a push from there to cut the Bucs lead to 10-6, but another big FSW run, this time with Victoria Zibecchi at the service line, cushioned their lead back to 17-8. Kills from Zibecchi and Anica Bobic pushed FSW to set point and a Snow service error finished it off as the Bucs took the first 25-12. The stat sheet was all FSW as expected as Zibecchi and Bobic led a 14 kill Buccaneer attack in the set while Snow managed just 2 total kills.
The Bucs got off to a slower start in the second, but after three straight service aces from Bobic, FSW had themselves in front 10-6. The Bucs and Badgers continued to go back and forth until back to back kills from Izzy Collier in the middle pushed FSW's lead back to four at 19-15. Just when it looked like the Bucs were in the clear, the Badgers roared back, scoring 8 of the next 10 points to flip the script on the Bucs and take a 23-21 lead. A timeout by FSW slowed Snow's momentum and a kill from Alondra Alarcon got them back to within one before a shot from Madu Fontes off the block leveled the score at 23. Another Fontes hookup from Camila Brandalise gave FSW set point and an ace from Nina Boledovicova sealed the deal for the Purple and Aqua as the Bucs took the set 25-23 to go ahead 2-0 in the match.
Snow controlled the pace the first half of the third set, jumping out to a 12-9 lead on the Bucs midway through. An Alarcon attack out of the back row got the Bucs back on track and two straight kills from Zibecchi brought FSW even at 12-12. A solo block from Bobic put the Bucs in front and they never looked back from there, going on a 8-2 run to open up a 20-14 lead before Roberta Purashaj connected with Collier in the middle for the winner as the Bucs took the set 25-19 to sweep the match 3-0.
The Bucs finished with 44 kills in the win while holding Snow to just 18. Zibecchi led the Bucs with a career high 10 while Bobic and Alarcon each had 9 and Collier had 7 on 11 swings. Purashaj dialed up a 33 assist, 11 dig double-double in the win while Alarcon paced the back line with a game high 15 digs.
In their second matchup of the day, the Bucs squared off with the Golden Eagles of Southern Idaho in the two teams first ever meeting.
It was tight early between FSW and CSI as neither team gained more than a two point advantage through the first 20 points of the contest. It was tied at 10 when a block from Collier followed by a kill from Bobic pushed the Bucs in front and they used the momentum to extend their lead to four at 18-14 moments later when Purashaj found Boledovicova on a slide to force a CSI timeout. The Golden Eagles couldn't slow down the multifaceted Bucs attack as FSW came flying at them from all directions, closing out the set on a 10-2 run to take it 25-15 and go ahead 1-0 in the match. The Bucs finished off 12 kills and had just one error in the set, good for a .407 team hitting percentage.
The second set followed the same path as the first as the score remained tight early on until a midset run from FSW gave the Bucs some breathing room. This time FSW got it done with Clara Maidantchik at the service line and Bobic on the pin as the Bucs outside registered a pair of blocks and two kills in four points to give FSW a 16-9 lead before a CSI timeout. A Bucs triple block gave FSW a 20-12 lead later on before Brandalise and Collier connected in the middle to close out the set 25-18 and put the Bucs up 2-0.
The Bucs didn't mess around in the third as they jumped out to an 11-3 lead to begin the set and never looked back. An ace from Boledovicova made it 18-11 Bucs and back to back aces from Maidantchik put the finishing touches on it as FSW cruised to a 25-16 win in the third to sweep the match 3-0.
FSW hit .323 as a team in the win led by Zibecchi and Bobic who had 11 kills a piece and Collier who hit .700 with 7 kills on 10 swings. Purashaj notched her second straight double-double to begin the season with a team high 29 assists and 10 digs while Boledovicova paced the Bucs with 6 blocks.
The Bucs start the season 2-0 for the third straight year.
FSW will be back in action on Saturday in the UFirst Intermountain Invitational as they take on Central Wyoming in the first game of the day before closing out their weekend with the hosts, and 5th ranked Salt Lake in the final game of the tournament.