September 27, 2023
#1 FSW Sweeps National Championship Rematch With #2 Miami Dade
In the NJCAA match of the year thus far, the #1 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers put it all together in a 3-0 sweep of the #2 Miami Dade Sharks on the road Wednesday night in a rematch of the 2022 NJCAA National Championship Game.
MIAMI, Fla.- In the NJCAA match of the year thus far, the #1 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers put it all together in a 3-0 sweep of the #2 Miami Dade Sharks on the road Wednesday night in a rematch of the 2022 NJCAA National Championship Game.
Early on it was a dogfight as expected between the top two teams in the NJCAA ranks the past two seasons. The Bucs and Sharks found themselves deadlocked at 8 and then again at 16 after a kill from Izzy Collier out of the middle for FSW. Miami Dade was the first to 20 after back to back kills, but once again FSW responded with two straight of their own to tie the score for the ninth time in the set at 20-20. The Bucs and Sharks traded points to 22-22 before Roberta Purashaj connected with Nina Boledovicova on the slide to break the tie and put FSW up by one. After a Miami Dade timeout, Purashaj and Boledovicova hooked up again, but this time on the defensive side of the net with a huge block to give the Bucs two cracks at set point, but they would need just one as Alondra Alarcon put it to bed for the Purple and Aqua with a kill to give FSW the set 25-22.
With momentum on their side, the Bucs raced out to a 5-1 lead in the second and stretched it to 10-4 on a service ace from Alarcon. Just when it looked like FSW was going to run away with it, the Sharks made their push, closing the Bucs gap all the way to just one at 15-14 midway through the set. A kill on the right side from Victoria Zibecchi got the Bucs back on track and they cushioned their lead to three at 20-17 moments later on Alarcon's eighth kill of the night. A sideout for the Sharks got them back to within two, but FSW stepped on the gas once more, closing the set out with an ace from Boledovicova to take it 25-20 and hold a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
The third started much like the second did for the Bucs as once again FSW jumped out to a big early lead, first at 5-1 on a block from Collier and Zibecchi, and then 10-4 after two straight kills from Alarcon. Sara Gasparini showed her two way prowess with a kill and then a block with Collier to make it 14-7 FSW midway through the set. Miami Dade showed some fight, cutting the Bucs lead to four later in the set, but in the end, it was too much Purple and Aqua for the Sharks as Purashaj and Boledovicova connected on the slide once again to finish it off as FSW took the set 25-19 to close out the 3-0 sweep.
The Bucs spread the wealth offensively with five different players recording five or more kills, led by Alarcon who hammered home a team high 13 and also pulled up 10 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. Gasparini came off the Bucs bench to finish with 8 on 24 swings. Orchestrating the offensive attack was Purashaj who chalked up a double-double with 37 assists and 11 digs while also tying her career high with 5 blocks. Clara Maidantchik paced the Bucs back line with 15 digs.
FSW remains unbeaten on the season at a perfect 17-0 with the victory while taking sole possession of first place in the Citrus Conference standings at 6-0. Miami Dade drops to 12-2 overall and 5-1 in conference action with the loss. The Bucs win marks an unprecedented eighth in a row over the eight time National Champion Sharks.
The Bucs will look to remain hot when they return home on Saturday to take on Hillsborough in a 2 PM matinee start in Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers.