FORT MYERS, Fla.- Goal number one.... complete. The #1 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers returned home for the first time in nearly a month on Wednesday and laid the hammer down on the visiting Santa Fe Saints, sweeping the match 3-0 and in the process clinching their fourth consecutive Conference Championship and their first in the inaugural year of the Citrus Conference. 

 

The beginning of the match pretty much set in motion how this night was going to go for both sides as FSW scored the first 12 points of the match, racking up tallies at the service line as well as both the offensive and defensive side of the net to get out to the early 12-0 lead. The Bucs continued to push as a block from Giulia Bonifacio and Nina Boledovicova put FSW up 19-7 later in the set before Roberta Purashaj hooked up with Boledovicova in the middle to close out the set as the Bucs took it 25-11 to go up 1-0 in the match. The Bucs were unstoppable on offense in the set as they finished with a .519 hitting percentage with 15 kills and just 1 error on 29 total swings.  

 

It was more of the same for the Purple and Aqua in the second as FSW got out to an early 9-3 lead before a 5-0 run midway through the set gave them an 18-8 lead after a kill from Luana Vieira. A backrow blast from NJCAA National Player of the Week Alondra Alarcon gave FSW a dozen shots at set point, but they would need just one as Purashaj and Abby Toeniskoetter combined for a stuff to seal the second 25-13 and put the Bucs up 2-0 into the intermission.  

 

It was a new cast of characters but the same script for FSW in the third as they doused any hopes of a comeback for the Saints early in the period, jumping out to a 15-5 lead after a trio of aces from Toeniskoetter at the service line and back to back blocks from Camila Brandalise and Izzy Collier midway through the set. Anna Marzella got dialed up her third ace of the game to put the Bucs up 22-12 before Brandalise went to Toeniskoetter in the middle to put the cherry on top for FSW as they took the third 25-15 to sweep the match 3-0. 

 

The Bucs were dominant in every phase of the game, finishing with a .449 team hitting percentage while holding the Saints to a .042 mark while racking up 9 blocks to Santa Fe's 2.  Nine different players finished with a kill for the Bucs in the victory led by Alarcon, Bonifacio, and Victoria Zibecchi who all had 7 and Collier who had 6 in her 10 swings in the middle.  Purashaj dished out 18 assists while Brandalise had 12 and four different Bucs had 2 or more aces at the service line, led by Marzella's career high 4.  Seven different front row players were in on at least one block in the win for the Bucs led by Collier's 5 and Brandalise and Toeniskoetter's 3 a piece.  

 

FSW remains unbeaten on the season at a perfect 23-0 while running their Citrus Conference record to 12-0 which was good enough to clinch their fourth consecutive Conference Championship in the process.  FSW's four Championships have now come across two different leagues (Suncoast/Citrus) while putting together an unbelievable 49-1 mark in their 50 contests. 

 

The Bucs won't have much time to celebrate as they now turn their focus to Saturday where they will host in-state rival and #6 Miami Dade in a rematch of the 2022 NJCAA National Championship in which the Bucs won 3-1 in West Plains, Missouri for their first title in program history.  The Bucs and Sharks will tangle at 2 PM Saturday in Suncoast Credit Union Arena as the two teams make their final preparations for the upcoming Region VIII Tournament in Fort Myers.