Volleyball Season Ends After Run at State Tournament

The season came to an end for the Pensacola State College volleyball team (19-7) this past Saturday at the Region 8 State Tournament which was held at Florida Gateway College.

The Pirates started the tournament strong with a 3-0 win against Itawamba, clinching their next playoff round later that afternoon. The first set of the match was well fought by both sides of the net, but the Pirates found a way to win the set and control the momentum in the next two sets, finishing the third and final set with an impressive 25-5 score.

Amaya Bazemore led the team with 12 kills and four blocks, while Kaytie Rutland followed right behind with 10 kills.  

Later that day the Pirates fought against a very strong Lake-Sumter team and came up short causing them to drop into the bottom half of the double elimination bracket.

Katrina Espinosa led the team with 19 assists and Julia Neveu helped the back row with 18 digs.  

On the following day, the Pirates had to face the gritty Florida State College at Jacksonville team once again this season, but this time a loss could result in the elimination from the tournament.

After winning the first set, the Pirates continued to roll and closed the match in three sets, buying themselves another round at the tournament.

Kaytie Rutland came in clutch with 12 kills and no errors, hitting an impressive .706, marking her career high during a district tournament. 

In the next round PSC faced Panhandle neighbor Gulf Coast State College. After losing both times during the regular season to the Commodores, the Pirates found a way to get the win at the district tournament.

Finishing the match 3-1, with an incredible performance by Sophia Ortega and Tiana Curry, adding 22 kills total, with the help of their Sophomore teammate Katrina Espinosa, dishing 29 assists for the match, and Julia Neveu chipped in 25 digs. 

The semi-final opponent was no stranger to the Pirates crew, having to play for them for the second time at the tournament, Pensacola State once again had to battle Lake-Sumter. This was the fourth time these teams met this season.

Long defensive rallies kept the Pirates in the match, but unfortunately the Lakehawks ended the Pirate's season in the fourth set with a 25-23 score. 

Sophia Ortega led the team with 51 kills for the weekend, and added 64 digs while Kaytie Rutland was right behind with 50 kills, hitting .314 during the tournament. Meanwhile, Amaya Bazemore added 44 kills and 16 blocks in the tournament. Julia Neveu's defensive prowess kept the Pirates alive in games with 102 digs, with Cheyenne Strickland right behind with 72 digs. Katrina Espinosa led the team in assists with 118, while teammate Charley Drain had 77 assists for the weekend.