Posted: Aug 26, 2023
FORT MYERS, Fla.- For the second straight season, the #1 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers are queens of the beach, as the Purple and Aqua swept #14 Monroe and #7 Trinity Valley in straight sets Saturday in Suncoast Credit Union Arena to win the 2023 Adventures in Paradise Battle at the Beach in Fort Myers. Alondra Alarcon and Anica Bobic were named to the All-Tournament Team while Roberta Purashaj was the Tournament MVP for the second consecutive season.
It was a bright and early start for the Bucs on Saturday as they took on #14 Monroe in a matchup of a pair of teams that went undefeated on day one of the tournament Friday.
The Bucs couldn't have scripted a better start in the first as a rash of Monroe errors gave FSW an early 8-2 cushion that the Bucs stretched to 15-3 midway through the set on a pair of aces from Anica Bobic. The Mustangs never threatened as the Bucs pushed it to set point on another Bobic ace before NIna Boledovicova finished it with a slide as smooth as butter as FSW took the first 25-15 to go ahead 1-0 in the match.
For the second straight set the Bucs raced out to a big early lead as back to back kills from Izzy Collier and Alondra Alarcon gave FSW an 8-2 lead to begin the set and Bobic's fourth ace of the early going made it 14-7 midway through. FSW extended their lead to eight on a beautiful hookup from Roberta Purashaj to Victoria Zibecchi and it looked like they were going to run away with the second, but the Mustangs had other ideas as they scored three straight to make it 20-15 deep in the period. A back row shot from Alarcon got the Bucs back on track and they finished the set strong, scoring five of the final six points to finish the Mustangs off 25-16 and take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
The Bucs came at the Mustangs from all angles early in the third as four different players recorded kills in the first 10 points of the set to give FSW an early 7-3 lead. A 6-0 run midset with Alarcon on the service line made it 19-7 Bucs and the only thing that was left to decide was the final score as Camila Brandalise found Madu Fontes on the right side for a kill to close out the third 25-13 to finish off the sweep.
FSW put together a .473 hitting mark in the win, one of the top five single game marks in program history as Alarcon led the offense with 15 kills, and the defense with 11 digs, while Purashaj dished out 36 assists and Bobic dialed up 4 aces and 3 blocks.
The Bucs win, coupled with a #7 Trinity Valley win meant the undefeated Bucs and undefeated Eagles would play for a defacto Tournament Championship Game.
As expected, it was nip and tuck early on between the Bucs and the Cardinals as the two teams felt each other out. Midway through the first the score was deadlocked at 11 before back to back kills from Alarcon gave FSW a two point advantage. Trinity Valley wouldn't go away, drawing back to within one at 17-16 before Bucs kills from Bobic and Alarcon made it a three point game late in the set. The Cards made one last push, cutting the Bucs lead to one once again at 22-21, but Bobic earned a pair of kills to give FSW set point and Purashaj set up Zibecchi for the winner as the Bucs took a highly contested first 25-22 to go ahead 1-0 in the match. The Bucs offense was electric in the set as FSW finished with 20 kills in the period including eight from Alarcon and seven from Bobic.
The Bucs carried the momentum right over into the second and raced out to an early 5-2 lead before stretching it to an eight point game at 13-5 after three straight Alarcon bullets midway through the set. The Bucs took a 10 point lead when Purashaj connected with Boledovicova in the middle and a Cardinal service error put the finishing touches on a 25-13 win to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
FSW got off to another good start in the third as Bobic and Collier went up high for a stuff block and Zibecchi went down the line for a kill to give the Bucs a quick 5-1 advantage. Bobic's serve continued to give the Cardinals problems through the middle portion of the set as back to back aces from the sophomore extended the lead to 13-6 and the Bucs held that cushion to 17-10 later on. The undefeated Cardinals weren't ready to concede their first loss just yet though as they fought back with a 9-3 run to close the gap to just one at 20-19 late in the period. When the Bucs needed them the most, the combo of Purashaj and Alarcon got them the ball back with a back row connection and an ace from Boledovicova from the service line gave the Purple and Aqua some breathing room at 22-19. Collier was in on another big block to set up set point for FSW and on their second attempt they finished the Cardinals off as Alarcon blasted her 17th kill of the contest to the floor to give the Bucs the set 25-20 and the match 3-0.
The Bucs core came up big in the win as Alarcon finished with a match high 17 kills and high .424 to finish off a big weekend while Bobic had 13 kills and hit .400 and Zibecchi joined them in double figures with 10 kills. Purashaj quarterbacked the offense to a .308 team hitting mark with 34 assists while Clara Maidantchik paced the back line with a career high 15 digs. FSW outblocked the Cardinals 11-5 in the win including 7 from Collier and another 4 from Boledovicova.
At tournament's end, Alarcon and Bobic were both named to the All-Tournament Team following big weekends while Purashaj was named the Battle at the Beach MVP for the second straight season.
The two victories, along with their win over #9 Utah State-Eastern on Friday gives FSW five wins over Top 20 ranked foes this season as they improve to 8-0 while winning all 24 sets they have played.
After a torrid start to the season which saw them play eight games in eight days, the Bucs will now get a much deserved break as they will be off next week before turning their attention to Citrus Conference action where they will open their title defense on September 6th on the road in Tampa when they square off with Hillsborough.