FORT MYERS, Fla. — In Nov. 2022, Florida SouthWestern State College’s volleyball team took home their first national title in program history.
This past weekend, the ladies got to relive those moments at their ring ceremony held at Suncoast Credit Union Arena.
“This day is the day that we are waiting for since they won the national championship,” said FSW freshman Arianna Rossi.
164 days passed between that final game and being able to put on those rings and watching as the championship banner was unveiled in the rafters.
“You just want to have it,” said FSW head coach Thais Baziquetto-Allen. “Like I just want to win one day and have it the next day and celebrate!”
The journey to get all the way to Nationals was a tough one, especially during Hurricane Ian.”It wasn’t easy,” said FSW sophomore Julia Lawrenz. “We spent weeks out of home with only a couple clothes.”
“It was a lot of uncertainties,” said Baziquetto-Allen. “I think we moved like six different times for practice in seven different gyms.”
But the Buccaneers said they kept their ultimate goal at the forefront of their minds – win a national championship.
“When you overcome something so big,” said Baziquetto-Allen. “I think it just brings you together so that it makes you stronger.”
“Every day we practice here and we look up so we see all of the banners and we’re all dreaming,” said Lawrenz. “We’re all looking at this corner over there and say one day is gonna be ours so it’s coming today.”
From the day they won the title, and throughout the past five months leading up to the celebration, they say it’s been like a fairy tale.”I still don’t know. Was it a dream?” said Rossi. “It’s like wow, we did this. We’re not going to forget for the rest of our life.”
One championship is in the record books, but next year’s goal has already been set.
“We expect to try to do it again!” said Baziquetto-Allen. “I think that just it’s a pressure that we put on ourselves as the players coming back and me as a coach, and even the players coming in. They know they’re joining a program that has won the national championship and that’s something we bring up. It’s like, ‘Do you want to come to a program that wants to win and wants to be back there and do you want to be a part of the reason why we do that?’ So I think it’s just a pressure to do it again.”
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