Posted: Nov 23, 2024
CLARKSVILLE, Fla.- The Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers made NJCAA history Saturday night in Clarksville, Tennessee, defeating their archrivals, the Miami Dade Sharks 3-0 to win their third consecutive NJCAA National Championship, the first team to do that in the Division I era.
The Bucs couldn't have asked for much of a better start Saturday night as after waiting nearly an hour and a half after their scheduled game time to finally get going, they jumped out to an early 4-0 lead and stretched it to 9-3 on a big swing by Julija Grubisic Cabo moments later. Abby Toeniskoetter controlled the middle of the net on both sides through the middle of the set, getting a big kill on a dish from Camilla Brandalise before stuffing a Miami Dade attacker alongside Giovanna Rocha to make it 18-9 FSW. An ace from Irina Makinen got the Bucs to 20 first and Makinen hooked up with Nina Boledovicova for the winner as FSW took the first convincingly 25-16. FSW dominated the scoreboard and the stat sheet in the first as the Bucs hit .438 as a team with 16 kills and just 2 errors while Miami Dade was just into the positives with a .059 mark.
It was more of the same for FSW in the second as Toeniskoetter began the set with a thunderous swing and roofed the Sharks in the middle one point later to give the Bucs the early lead. For the second straight set FSW took a 6-2 lead on the Sharks but this time Miami Dade came back to make things interesting early on, trimming the Bucs lead to one at 9-8 after three straight points. A service error by the Sharks gave the Bucs the ball back and they used it to roll off three straight points including an ace from Magi Milicevic and another rocket off the right arm of Grubisic Cabo to make it 13-8 FSW at the midway point of the set. Miami Dade cut it to a three point game at 16-13 before another 3-0 run by the Bucs, highlighted by a big block from Boledovicova and Patrycja Labucka, padded the lead back to six at 19-13. Back to back Toeniskoetter kills put the Bucs on the doorstep and a Shark attack long was the final nail as FSW took the second 25-18 to go ahead 2-0 in the match.
Miami Dade took their first and only lead of the match to begin the third but it didn't last long. After the Sharks got the first two points of the set, the Bucs stormed back to even it and then take a 4-2 lead on a block by Toeniskoetter and Rocha and a kill from Grubisic Cabo. Miami Dade looked like they had something working as they scored three straight to knot the score at 9, but back to back aces from Brandalise started the Bucs on a 5-0 run to retake a 14-9 lead midway through the set. The Bucs continued to put service pressure on the Sharks as another ace, this time by Grubisic Cabo got FSW to 20 first with a six point lead. Miami Dade made things interesting late, scoring four in a row with their backs to the wall to make it a two point game at 22-20, but a kill from Toeniskoetter and a Shark attack error gave FSW four cracks at championship point. The Bucs only needed one though as Toeniskoetter and Rocha put up a brick wall one last time on the Sharks on the outside, rejecting a Miami Dade attack back to the floor to give FSW the third 25-20 and start the celebration with a 3-0 win.
Toeniskoetter and Grubisic Cabo stole the show for FSW in the win as Toeniskoetter finished off a match high 13 kills and hit .611 in the championship match while also notching a match best 7 blocks for the Bucs. Grubisic Cabo finished a big weekend with 12 kills and missed a double-double by just one dig, finishing with 9 for FSW. Brandalise led the team with 23 assists while Clara Maidantchik pulled up a team high 10 digs for the Bucs. Milicevic and Boledovicova were both in on 4 blocks for the Purple and Aqua.
At tournament's end, Grubisic Cabo was name the Tournament Most Valuable Player and Bucs Head Coach Thais Baziquetto-Allen
was named the Coach of the Tournament while Toeniskoetter and Rocha were both named to the All-Tournament Team.
was named the Coach of the Tournament while Toeniskoetter and Rocha were both named to the All-Tournament Team.FSW wins their third straight NJCAA National Championship, the first program in the divisional era of the NJCAA to do that at the Division I level.
The Bucs finish 26-1 on the year, their third straight season with just one loss. Miami Dade sees their season end for the fourth straight year by the Bucs, three straight in the National Championship game, as they finish the year 25-3 with all three losses coming to FSW.
Bucs fans that would like to welcome the team back home are welcome to do so at Southwest Florida International Airport, where the team is scheduled to land at 12:55 PM on Southwest Airlines flight 1756 from Nashville, or they can meet them at Lighthouse Commons on the campus of FSW where they should arrive around 1:30 PM.
