October 2, 2024
Bucs Soar Past Eagles
The #2 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers made short work of the Polk State Eagles on the road in Winter Haven Wednesday, sweeping their Citrus Conference mates 3-0 to wrap up the first round of conference action with a record of 5-1.
WINTER HAVEN, Fla.- The #2 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers made short work of the Polk State Eagles on the road in Winter Haven Wednesday, sweeping their Citrus Conference mates 3-0 to wrap up the first round of conference action with a record of 5-1.
Playing in their pink uniforms in celebration of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Bucs jumped out to an early 11-6 lead on Polk in the first before having to hold on late against the charging Eagles for a 25-22 win to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
There was no messing around for FSW in the second as they controlled the set from the jump, taking an early 10-3 lead before Magi Milicevic ripped one cross court to put them up double digits at 18-8 later in the set. The Bucs didn't let up, finishing off Polk 25-10 to take a commanding 2-0 lead into the intermission.
The third was a repeat of the second as once again it was all Bucs, all the time. FSW led 9-3 when Camilla Brandalise connected with Nina Boledovicova in the middle for a kill and then notched back to back aces at the service line to give the Bucs a 12-3 advantage midway through the set. Leading big late, FSW rolled off the final five points of the set, taking it 25-9 to complete the 3-0 sweep of the Eagles.
The Bucs hit .487 as a team in the win while holding Polk to a .074 mark. Julija Grubisic Cabo led the way with 10 kills while Sofia Augusto and Giovanna Rocha combined for 15 kills and just 1 error in the win. Brandalise dished out a team best 21 assists while Irina Makinen finished with a career high 19.
FSW improves to 13-1 overall on the year and wraps up the first half of Citrus Conference play 5-1 while Polk State falls to 4-6 overall and 0-5 in league action.
The Bucs will continue a busy week on Saturday when they return home to take on #18 Hillsborough in Suncoast Credit Union Arena. The Bucs and Hawks will get going at 2 PM in Fort Myers on MVP day where the Bucs players will honor their Most Valuable Professor in a pregame ceremony.