PirateQ 
Photo credit: Dan Farley, Greg Shoemaker, and Deb Hild
Pensacola State College won its second straight FCSAA Division II Championship with a 3-1 win over top-seed Gulf Coast State College. Led by Coach Pati Gandolfo, awarded the Kim Whitney Award for District II Volleyball Coach of the Year, the Pirates gave it everything they had in front of a rowdy home crowd to move on to the next level of play at the NJCAA Division II Volleyball Championship in Cedar Rapids, Iowa Nov. 20 through Nov. 23.
PSC started the first set of the match on fire, scoring the first two points to serve notice, to keep spectators on the edge of their seats each set. The Pirates scored the final three points to close out the first set 25-21, with a repeat of that score in the second set.
The third set was a nail-biter for the Pirates and their fans, as the Gulf Coast Commodores scored four straight points and eventually had set point, finishing 30-28.
Ready for retribution, the fourth and final set was owned by the Pirates, scoring the first three points and all but putting the match away with a 13-2 run. PSC took the victory as they scored the final three points of the set at 25-10 to take the match and the Championship title.
The Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, Maddie Mire, dominated with 31 digs and six assists for PSC. Also selected for the All-Tournament team were Catie Woolf, Riley Carter and Maddie Goodwin, who all had twelve or more kills and were solid leaders for the win.
When speaking of the determination and performance of her team, Coach Gandolfo said, “I am beyond proud of the resilience this team has shown throughout the season. Gulf Coast is an excellent team, and they showed a great fight against us on the championship match. We talk about as a program that we don’t solely win matches on game day, but the matches are won and fought during practices. Of course, we have to show up and play well on game day, but our practices have been loaded with competitiveness and the hunger for overall improvement. We are looking forward to returning to Iowa, focusing on one match at a time.”
The Pirate staff wishes Coach Gandolfo and the team best of luck in Iowa. Go, Pirates!