Pirates Advance to Semifinals

The Pirates swept the No. 4 seed Johnson County Community College in three clean sets to earn their spot in the semifinals for the 2023 NJCAA Division II National Championship.  

Pensacola State set the tone early in the match as they hit Johnson County with 16 kills in the first set. Both teams grappled point for point, until defensive specialist Carly Cooper helped the Pirates gain an eight-point lead off a stellar service run. 

The Cavaliers kept up a strong fight, but could not quite catch up to the Pirates, as they finished the first set 25-20. 

Johnson County went into the second set fiery, with three kills and a service ace against the Pirates. PSC then kicked it into gear at 4-6 and took off with a five-point service run from defensive specialist Kathryn Lupo. Libero Maddie Mire followed up behind her with another five-point service run which brought them eight points ahead. Toward the end of the set, middle hitter Riley Carter stayed behind the end line for six consecutive points bringing the score to 24-14. Middle hitter Paige Patterson closed out the set for the Pirates with an emphatic kill, adding one more to her team's 12 kills while hitting average of .435.  

The third and final set was a jaw clenching battle as the Cavaliers had to win it to stay in the match. Johnson County came out swinging and earned three kills in a row against the Pirates. Pensacola State struggled to stop the opposition and found themselves down 6-11. Patterson came in yet again with a momentum shifting kill to make the score 7-11. Lupo stepped behind the end line and led her team through a seven-point run against the Cavaliers.  

The Pirates continued to carry the momentum through the entirety of the set which steered them to a score of 24-21. On match point, Lupo connected with Kiara Vega, who dished it out to outside hitter Anyaliz Rodriguez to end the match on a clean kill to the right back of the court. 

Paige Patterson and outside hitter Lyndi Bakker dominated the offense for the Pirates, both showing up with 11 kills. Rodriguez stayed right behind them with nine kills and six digs, as well as right side hitter Cadence Goeden who fired away with eight kills. 

The offense was orchestrated by setter Kiara Vega, who racked up another double-double of 38 assists and 11 digs. Mire helped keep the Pirates in the match with a solid 20 digs, as did Lupo with 11 digs.  

Pensacola State will now advance to the semifinal round where they will face the number one seeded Cowley College at 4:00 pm CST.