2019 FSW Volleyball News
The Florida SouthWestern State Volleyball Team was honored for their academics once again on Wednesday as they were named to a record breaking class of the USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award for 2019-2020.
After posting the highest winning percentage in the Suncoast Conference on the court and in the field for the second straight season this year, the Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers showed their true STUDENT-Athlete prowess on Wednesday as a conference high 21 Bucs earned NJCAA All-Academic Team honors.
All three Florida SouthWestern State women's athletics teams were honored by the NJCAA on Monday as the Bucs Volleyball, Softball, and Women's Basketball teams were named NJCAA Academic Teams of the Year by the organization.
Playing with their season on the line, the Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers came up with one of their best performances of the year in the FCSAA State Tournament in Jacksonville, knocking off #14 Central Florida 3-2 in a thrilling five set match to advance to the tournament’s Final Four.
Over the next two weeks we will relive the top 10 moments of the 2019-2020 FSW Athletics year. Today, we kick the countdown off at #10 with another kick off of sorts, the first FSW Volleyball match in program history.
After a series of one after another bad news reports regarding COVID-19 ended their 2019-2020 athletics year in March, the Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers got some good news on Thursday as the FCSAA Council of Presidents approved the NJCAA and the FCSAA AD’s plans to play the 2020-2021 seasons as planned, beginning in August.
While there was no bracket play going on at the NJCAA National Tournament this spring, there were matchups being played out and coming down to the closing minutes in the T3 Bracketology Top Arena Poll. At the end, there was just one left standing and that was Suncoast Credit Union Arena, home of the Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers. The Bucs' home digs brought home the title of the NJCAA's top arena with a 59% to 41% victory over Northwest Florida State's Raider Arena in the all Florida final.
For the second consecutive season, the Florida SouthWestern State Athletics Department recorded the highest winning percentage of any team in the FCSAA.
While Florida SouthWestern State College recently completed just its fifth year of NJCAA competition, it has already become a hotspot on NCAA Division I coaches' recruiting trail.
After a solid freshman season with the Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers, Lexi Hurtado is moving on to the NCAA level, signing with Nebraska's Chadron State to play for the Eagles for the next three seasons.
One year ago, Marina Alonso took a chance on the newly founded Florida SouthWestern State Volleyball program. Looking to transfer after her freshman year at Laredo, Alonso was searching for a new home and chose to sign with the Bucs, despite FSW having yet to play their first game in program history. After a successful sophomore season with the Bucs, that choice paid off for her on Friday as Alonso became FSW's first four-year signee, inking with NAIA top 10 squad Central Methodist University.
Of the 75 athletes that originate from outside of the United States between Florida Gulf Coast University and Florida Southwestern State College, a good amount are stuck in Fort Myers in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
After careful thought and consideration, the NJCAA has decided to cancel the rest of the 2020 Athletics season due to the rapidly changing situation concerning COVID-19. The cancellation effects the Florida SouthWestern State Men’s & Women’s Basketball teams as well as the Bucs’ Baseball and Softball squads.
Due to the continued concern of COVID-19 the the FCSAA has suspended all competitions, effective immediately, through March 28th. At that time, the organization's Council of Presidents will reaccess the situation and determine whether they feel competition between teams is safe once again.
In their first semester in program history, the Florida SouthWestern State Volleyball team has set their academic standards high, as the Buccaneers’ inaugural squad achieved a 3.35 team GPA for the Fall 2019 semester, leading the way in the FSW Athletic Department and putting themselves in position for AVCA Academic honors after the Spring semester.
The Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers saw their inaugural 2019 season come to a close this weekend, but not before making some noise and finishing fourth at the FCSAA State Tournament in Jacksonville. After splitting a pair of matches on the opening day of the eight team tournament, the Bucs pulled off the upset of the weekend with a 3-2 win over #14 Central Florida on Saturday before falling for the second time in as many days to #13 Hillsborough to draw their first campaign to an end.
