Pioneers Fail in last Game of the Season

Pioneers Fail in last Game of the Season

The Pioneers have had a long and hard fought season, filled with ups and downs and unfortunate occurrences. After all of that, they would still have an opportunity to finish in the top 3 in the state tournament. After suffering an unfortunate loss to Daytona on Friday, they would try to bounce back and make it into the 3rd place playoff game by beating #1 in the nation, Florida SouthWestern. FSW had swept the Pioneers in both of their previous meetings this season.

Both teams took the floor at 1pm this past Saturday, in the spacious and bright Suncoast Arena in Ft. Myers, Florida. It was not long into the first game that the Pioneers remembered why FSW was ranked #1 in the country. The Bucs came out very aggressively and sporting some swagger, as they built a lead on the Pioneers early and they struggled just to maintain the gap. The Pioneers were doing a lot of looking around, hoping that someone would figure out a way to get them going. Unfortunately, it would not happen in the first set, as they dropped the first set 25-12. The second set didn't seem like it was going to be much better as the Bucs jumped out to a 9-1 lead and looked to be on their way to a quick sweep. The Pioneers were able to rally though and through some very effective blocking, found their way back within 1 point as they neared the 20th point. They would ultimately fall short however, as FSW would take the second set 25-20.

With nothing left to lose and their backs against the wall, the Pioneers took the court for what could be their last game at IRSC. They certainly played like it too, coming out and serving and blocking with a focus the crowd had not seen all day.  Despite the best efforts of the FSW team and coach, the third set belonged to IRSC and there was nothing they could do about it. The Pioneers took the 3rd set and rolled right into the fourth, taking an early lead and maintaining that lead all the way until 20-19. The ball went back and forth in long rally after long rally, but eventually FSW was able to clench the elusive victory, and IRSC would huddle up one last time, as their 2021 season came to an end.

The Indian River Pioneers finish the season with a final record of 7-15 and finish at tied for 5th in the state. Thank you for supporting the River this season and we look forward to your support for our other athletic teams as well!

Go Pioneers!