PENSACOLA, Fla. - Pensacola State College won its second straight FCSAA Division II Volleyball Championship with a 3-1 win over top-seed Gulf Coast State College. 

Playing in front of a boistrous home crowd, the Pirates avenged a pair of 3-0 defeats to the Commodores during the regular season and punched their ticket to the NJCAA Division II Volleyball Championship in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 

Gulf Coast State entered play on Saturday with a 15-0 record against its FCSAA DII rivals in 2024 - 14-0 during the regular season and Friday's 3-1 win over St. Johns River State College in the semifinal round. In doing so, the Commodores had only dropped a total of two sets. 

Pensacola State was the agressor from opening serve on Saturday, scoring the first two points of the match to serve notice. Once both teams settled in, the set was nip-and-tuck until a 5-1 run gave the Pirates a 20-15 lead. Gulf Coast State twice got within one, the last at 22-21, before Pensacola State scored the final three points to close out the set. 

In set two, Gulf Coast State rallied from a 14-8 deficit to tie the set at 19-all. Once again, however, it was Pensacola State who closed strong for a second straight 25-21 win. 

The third set proved to be the best of the tournament. 

Pensacola State was beginning to smell it, leading 18-13, when the Commodores rose up and scored five straight points to tie the match. The Pirates later led 21-19 before Gulf Coast State scored four straight points and eventually had set point, leading 24-23 but couldn't convert. 

The Pirates got to Championship Point, leading 25-24 but a service error extended the match. Pensacola State fought off three more set point before Miliani Avila-Bauzo's kill won the set at 30-28 for the Commodores. 

The fourth set was all Pensacola State. The Pirates scored the first three points and jumped out to a 5-1 lead. After Gulf Coast State got within two (7-5), the Pirates all but put the match away with a 13-2 run, capped by Catie Woolf's kill that gave the Pirates a 20-7 advantage. They scored the final three points for the victory. 

The Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, Maddie Mire, finished with 31 digs and six assists for Pensacola State. Four more players had 12+ kills - Wolfe, Riley Carter and Maddie Goodwin, who each were selected to the All-Tournament Team - and Reece Varden. 

Lauren Schuessler recorded 51 assists and 25 digs. 

Danna Aguilera, who had 12 kills and 15 digs, represented Gulf Coast State on the All-Tournament Team. 

Rounding out the 8-person All-Tournament Team was Natalie Rhodes (St. Johns River State College), Elizabeth McDonald (Pasco-Hernando State College) and Ranya Mehta (St. Petersburg College).

By virtue of the win, Pensacola State's Pati Gandolfo received the Kim Whitney Award, which recognizes the FCSAA DII Coach of the Year.