Volleyball Wins Thriller on Saturday Clinching Weekend Sweep

Finally, being able to play at home, the Pirates kept the momentum going and extended their win streak to nine games. The weekend kicked off on Friday with a 3-0 win over South Florida State College.

The win did not come easy, as the Pirates had to fight for every point, especially at the end of the second set. Trailing 17-19, Pensacola finished the set with an 8-1 run to secure the 25-20 win and go up two sets to zero.  

Once again, Amaya Bazemore led the team with 11 kills and fellow sophomore Kaytie Rutland marked 10 kills for the night. Both players brought a couple blocks each to the match to finish the game on a high note.  

On Saturday, the five set match left every spectator with a taste of adrenaline from the first point of the match until the final ball dropped, giving the Pirates the win for the day.

Palm Beach started the match showing no mercy and dusted the Pirates 14-25 in the first set. Falling behind fueled PSC's drive, as they stayed patient and disciplined with the long rallies and were able to pocket the second set of the match. 

The extremely long rallies and high emotions were present on both sides of the net in set three and the Panthers pulled back ahead 2-1.

Pensacola was forced to step it up in the fourth set to guarantee the match would go into five games. They left no doubt and built a wall at the net, adding six blocks alone in the fourth set, not allowing the Panthers to get through and tied the match 2-2.

Fueled by the momentum of the fourth set, the Pirates left no doubt and quickly closed out the fifth set 15-9. 

Sophia Ortega had an outstanding performance with another double-double of 12 kills, no errors, hitting .387 for the match and helping the backrow with 21 digs. Cheyenne Strickland was right behind with 10 kills and 14 digs. Amaya Bazemore had seven blocks, followed by Kaytie Rutland with four to complete a season high on blocks with 16 total for the day. Julia Neveu helped the Pirates defense with 22 digs.  

The Pirates are on the road again, facing St John's River State College on Friday night and then they will head to Lake Sumter on Saturday.