Volleyball Finishes Pensacola Premier 1-3

Pensacola State hosted the program's first Pensacola Premier Tournament over the weekend. Five highly ranked teams in NJCAA Division II Volleyball made their way to Hartsell Arena to compete against each other. Appearing at the tournament was PSC's neighbor Gulf Coast (no. 7), Enterprise State (no. 17), Heartland (no. 6), Johnson County (no. 3) and powerhouse Cowley County (no. 1). The Pirates finished the tournament 1-3 after facing Heartland, Enterprise State, Johnson County and Cowley County.  

Pensacola State 0, Heartland 3 (10-25, 25-27, 22-25)

The first match for the Pirates was a hard-fought three-setter that boiled down to attacking. The Hawks earned 38 kills, topping Pensacola's 26 kills. PSC struggled to find their rhythm during the first set, and came close in the last two sets, but could not make the final push. Despite the loss, setter Lauren Schuessler worked for her team and locked in another double-double this season with 22 assists and 14 digs. Maddie Mire fought against the Hawks' offense and earned 19 digs. 

Pensacola State 3, Enterprise 2 (25-11, 22-25, 25-18, 14-25, 15-10)

PSC found their flow the next morning as they battled the Boll Weevils in a five-set showdown. With an almost flawless offensive performance, the Pirates only made 18 attacking errors and earned 54 kills in the match. Leading at the net was Marisa Beaubien with 14 kills, two solo blocks and six block assists. Right behind Beaubien was Catie Woolf with a double-double of 11 kills, 15 digs and Riley Carter with 10 kills. Lauren Schuessler ran the court for the Pirates and notched yet again another double-double of 46 assists and 15 digs. Mire shined on defense with a whopping 25 digs. Olivia McDaniel also kept her team in the fight with 12 digs. 

Pensacola State 0, Johnson County 3 (21-25, 18-25, 17-25)

The Pirates closed out Friday evening with a match against no. 3 Johnson County. Pensacola stayed close behind the Cavaliers, but could not accelerate far enough to pull ahead. The Pirates struggled to sideout due to 11 reception errors and 15 attacking errors. Contrary to the loss, Mire tallied 20 digs and Schuessler earned 24 assists and two kills of her own.  

Pensacola State 0, Cowley County 3 (17-25, 20-25, 15-25)

The final match of the tournament took place Saturday afternoon. 

Although Cowley secured the victory in three sets, the Pirates stayed the course throughout the entire match. Maddie Goodwin entered the match in the first set to shift the momentum and led her team offensively with eight kills. Reece Varden trailed behind her with six kills and Carter with five. Schuessler recorded 25 assists and one kill against the Tigers. Mire held down the defense with 14 digs, along with McDaniel who notched 11.  

The Pirates walked away from the tournament with only one victory, but feeling positive about the growth they made as a team. Volleyball hosts their final three conference matches this weekend in the Hartsell Arena, where they will be enjoying Family Weekend, including Sophomore Day on Saturday.