Sharks Head Back to FCSAA Championship Match

Photo by Tessa Mortensen
Photo by Tessa Mortensen
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November 7, 2025

For the fourth straight year, Miami Dade is heading back to the FCSAA State Championship Final. The top-seeded Sharks handled Hillsborough Community College in straight sets Friday morning at Suncoast Credit Union Arena, earning another shot at defending champion Florida SouthWestern State College.

The first set looked eerily similar to the teams' five-set battle earlier this season in Miami. Hillsborough came out swinging behind Emilia Arvidson and Pamela De Jesús Tejedor, jumping ahead 23-20 after a string of Eva Rovello service aces. But Miami Dade quickly turned the tide. A block by María Fernanda de Lima Varela and Luyeisy Márquez Moreno tied it at 23-23, and after fending off a Hillsborough set point, Azra Arslano?lu finished it off with a kill to take it 28-26.

That late-set momentum carried over. In the second frame, Angelica Rodríguez took control early, hammering kills from both pins while Eleonora Gicheva mixed the offense up to keep the Hawks guessing. A service ace from Katianna Mejía Betancur stretched the lead to 11-7, and although Hillsborough closed within 22-24, Márquez Moreno sealed it with a cross-court winner to put MDC up 2-0.

The Sharks never looked back. Varela opened the third with a kill off the block, and Miami Dade raced out to a 13-7 lead behind a six-point service run from Betancur. Hillsborough tried to slow the pace with multiple timeouts, but the Sharks' block dominated the final stretch, highlighted by Fabricio and Gicheva combining for three late stuffs. Eduarda Fabricio put the exclamation point on it at 25-16 with one final quick set kill in the middle.

Rodríguez led Miami Dade with 11 kills, followed by Márquez Moreno's 14 points and Gicheva's 34 assists and 9 digs. Varela and Fabricio anchored the net with 9 block assists apiece as the Sharks held Hillsborough to just .107 hitting.

With the win, Miami Dade (23-2) advances to face Florida SouthWestern State in the FCSAA Championship Final, setting up a fourth consecutive title clash between two of the nation's elite programs.