FORT MYERS, Fla.- The defending NJCAA National Champion Florida SouthWestern Buccaneers opened up their title defense on Friday at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in the Battle at the Beach Tournament in Fort Myers and they looked as good as the #1 National Ranking advertised, sweeping perennial powers Missouri State-West Plains and #4 Salt Lake in three sets each to begin their 2024 season a perfect 2-0. 

 

With a new look lineup since the last time they took the court in the NJCAA National Championship Game in Hutchinson, Kansas, it took the Bucs a little bit to get going in the first set of their opener against the Grizzlies of Missouri-State West Plains.  The Bucs actually found themselves in an early 12-10 hole before a 9-0 run midway through the set put them in front 19-12. Abby Toeniskoetter led the Bucs charge during the run, getting a pair of kills out of the middle and then back to back blocks on opposite pins to push FSW out in front by seven. The Bucs kept coming at the Grizzlies from all angles late in the set, geetting a pair of kills from Julija Grubisic Cabo and another from Patrycja Labucka to close out the set and give FSW the first 25-15 to go ahead 1-0 in the match. 

 

The second set followed a similar script as the Bucs and Grizzlies went back and forth through the first part of the set before an FSW run midway through put the Bucs in front for good. Tied at 14, an ace from Sara Gasparini gave the Bucs the lead and started an 11-2 storm to the finish line to give FSW the set 25-16 to go ahead 2-0 in the match. 

 

The Bucs and Grizzlies continued their trend of competitive play early in the set in the third as they traded seven straight kills back and forth with West Plains grabbing an 11-9 lead. Camilla Brandalise connected with Toeniskoetter in the middle for a kill to get the Bucs on track and they used the momentum to go on a 5-0 run to take their first lead of the set at 14-11. The Grizzlies weren't going to roll over for the champs though and battled back to tie the score at 16. A 5-0 dash by the Bucs put them back up 21-16 and it looked like they were on their way to the sweep, but a 5-0 burst by the Grizzlies quickly tied the game back up at 21 late in the set. Nina Boledovicova combined with Brandalise for a block to give the Bucs the lead back before a Grizzly attack error put FSW up two and the Bucs and Grizzlies traded the next four points, which was good enough for the Purple and Aqua to finish off a 25-23 win in the third to take the match 3-0. 

 

The Bucs offense attack was balanced with three different players with 10 or more kills.  Gasparini finished with 10 on the dot while Grubisic Cabo and Toeniskoetter combined for 23 kills and just three errors for FSW in the win.  Brandalise dished out 36 assists in her first game taking over the reins from 2023 NJCAA National Player of the Year Roberta Purashaj while Toeniskoetter notched a team best five blocks for FSW. 

 

 

On paper the Bucs nightcap on day one was the match of the tournament as #1 FSW went toe to toe with #4 Salt Lake. 

 

The Bruins got out to an early 2-1 lead in the first, but unfortunately for the visitors from the Beehive State, that was about the end of the highlights. The Bucs constant service pressure and multifaceted offense was a whirlwind for Salt Lake as FSW went on a 5-0 run to take an 11-4 lead midway through and after a service error gifted the Bruins a point, FSW got the ball back and reeled off the next 12 points in a row to blow their lead open to an eye popping 23-5. Brandalise did the rest, hooking up with Toeniskoetter in the middle for a kill to push it to set point for the Bucs before dialing up an ace to close things out and put the Bruins out of their misery in the first 25-6. 

 

It was more of the same for the Bucs in the second as FSW jumped out to an early 3-0 lead before another huge run, this time a 13-0 jaunt with Giovanna Rocha at the service line, blew the score open to 20-5 at the 25 point mark. Salt Lake found a bit of footing to hit double digits , but in the end it was too much Purple and Aqua as Brandalise and Toeniskoetter continued their connection to finished things off 25-12 to put the Bucs up 2-0 in the match. 

 

There were no crazy runs for the Bucs in the third, but unfortunately for the Bruins, the results were no different. Boledovicova hammered one down to make it 6-2 Bucs early and back to back blocks from Grubisic Cabo and Boledovicova gave FSW a 12-4 lead midway through. Irina Makinen came in off the Bucs bench to quarterback the offense and it continued to flow like the Mississippi as she connected with Grubisic Cabo twice and them Gasparini for three straight kills to make it 18-5 FSW late in the set. A kill from Labucka gave FSW a bucket full of match points, but they would need only one as she stepped back to the service line and dialed up the Bucs ninth ace of the match to close things out 25-8 and finish off the sweep. 

 

As expected with the lopsided score, the box score was equally as night and day.  FSW finished the match hitting .459 as a team while Salt Lake hit -.120 in the loss. Grubisic Cabo led the Bucs with 11 kills while Toeniskoetter finished with 6 kills on 7 swings, good for an .857 hitting percentage. Brandalise dished out 22 assists while Anna Marzella pulled up a team best 12 digs. The Bucs finished with nine blocks as a team with Toeniskoetter and Grubisic Cabo each getting in on four. 

 

 

The Bucs start 2-0 for the fourth straight season and fifth time in six seasons as a program.  

 

The Battle of the Beach will continue tomorrow in Suncoast Arena with two more tough matchups on the slate for the Bucs as they square off against #11 Utah State-Eastern at 9:00 AM in the first game of the morning before taking on #5 Trinity Valley in an NJCAA National Tournament Semifinal rematch in their final game of the weekend at 2:00 PM.