Pirates Claim South Atlantic District Championship Again

Pensacola State hosted the 2024 FCSAA/NJCAA DII South Atlantic District Championship tournament last weekend.

Hartsell Arena was vibrant with competition on Friday and Saturday as the top six teams in the Sun-Lakes Conference went head to head for the championship title.

The Pirates entered the tournament as the no. 2 seed, which granted them a bye into the semi-final match. St. Petersburg College took down Pasco-Hernando in the quarter final match on Friday, determining Pensacola's first matchup of the weekend. 

Pensacola State 3, St. Petersburg 0 (25-20, 25-11, 25-19) 

The Pirates made a statement in their first match of the tournament as they swept the Titans in three clean sets. Pensacola remained a threat at the net as the team hit a .316. Outside hitter Maddie Goodwin carried her team to victory with 17 kills, hitting .457. Reece Varden, Riley Carter and Catie Woolf each tallied seven kills, making it difficult for the Titans to gain a lead. Lauren Schuessler led the offense with 31 assists and six digs. Libero Maddie Mire weathered the storm for the Pirates with 12 digs and seven aces. Pensacola's win against St. Petersburg notched their advancement to the Championship match against no. 1 seed, Gulf Coast State. 

Pensacola State 3, Gulf Coast State 1 (25-21, 25-21, 28-30, 25-10) 

For the second year in a row, the two teams faced each other in the final round of the South Atlantic District Championship. After losing both regular season matches to the Commodores, Pensacola State entered the final match with a chip on their shoulder. That extra edge worked in favor of the Pirates as they earned the title of South Atlantic District Champions in four strong sets. 

The offense for Pensacola was firing from all cylinders as four attackers made their way to double-digits in kills. Leading the team was Woolf with 18 kills hitting .264. Goodwin was not far behind notching a double-double of 13 kills and 10 digs hitting .324. Middle blockers for PSC, Varden and Carter matched with 12 kills and 3 digs each. Carter was a force to be reckoned with as she brought her team three service aces, five block assists and one solo block. Along with Pensacola's offense, the defense kept the train rolling. Mire kept the ball alive as she earned 31 digs along with six assists and one service ace. Defensive specialist Olivia McDaniel also tallied 13 digs. Schuessler led her team to victory with a career high double-double of 51 assists and 25 digs along with two service aces and one kill. 

Pensacola State's victory officially secured their spot into the 2024 DII NJCAA Volleyball National Championship Tournament. The team will head to Cedar Rapids, Iowa for their final week of competition taking place November 20-23.

Four Pirates were named to the All-Tournament team with Maddie Mire leading the way by also being named Most Outstanding Player. She was joined on the team by Riley Carter, Maddie Goodwin and Catie Woolf.