The SCF volleyball team is now preparing themselves for a new season after going through a struggle last year. The Manatees finished last season 7-25 with an 0-6 record in the Suncoast and did not qualify for the Suncoast Conference Tournament.
Meet the Coaching Staff:
The Manatees are led by head coach Angela Byrd. Byrd enters her fourth season as head coach for the Manatees and enters with a 28-63 overall record. Byrd was named head coach for SCF after the departure of Dr. Lonnie Wilson.
Byrd is joined by her assistant coaches, Doug Byrd (recruiting coordinator), Kathilia Colon and Lynn Burnett.
Meet the Players:
This season, the Manatees will have six sophomores returning which include Sydney Jaco, Emily Sauceda, Lakeesha Esseboom and Barbora Tichackova, while Byrd brings in seven freshmen which include right side hitter Lisa Jaunet from France and outside hitter Leilani Wilcox-Nanai from New Zealand.
Jaco, a defensive specialist/libero that follows the footsteps of her older sister, Brittany, is coming off of last season finishing with 784 digs, 22 aces and 59 assists while being named a member of the All-Suncoast First Team. Jaco's 784 digs were the second highest in the nation behind Vincennes University's Allison Ruddick, while her digs per set (7.06) led the nation. In fact, Jaco's 784 digs broke her older sister's record and will be looking to break her own record.
Sauceda, a right side hitter and product of Sarasota High, is coming off finishing her freshman campaign with 98 total blocks and 89 kills while joining Jaco on the All-Suncoast First Team.
Esseboom, an outside hitter from Paramaribo, Suriname, is coming off of finishing with 179 kills and 36 blocks.
Tichackova, a middle blocker from Liberec, Czech Republic, is coming off of 159 kills and 79 blocks for her freshman campaign.
Schedule Breakdown:
The Manatees will play three exhibition matches against Palm Beach State College (Aug 10), College of Central Florida (CCF) (Aug 16) and Polk State (Aug 20). They will then open the season on neutral grounds as they play in a tri-match against Daytona State and Palm Beach State (Aug 24).
The Manatees then have their home opener against Pasco-Hernando State (August 28) before playing eight road trip matches before returning home to face Webber International JV.
On September 24, the Manatees will open Suncoast Conference play on the road against Hillsborough and defending Suncoast Conference Regular Season Champion St. Pete College before returning home for their first ever matchup against Florida Southwestern State (FSW) on October 1. In fact, FSW will be making their volleyball program debut on August 23.
On October 18, the Manatees will play Monroe College for their final home match, which will be dubbed as sophomore night for Jaco, Sauceda, Esseboom, Tichackova, Hannah Strickland and Daviya Bernard before finishing the regular season on the road against Florida Gateway College (October 29) and hopefully preparing for the FCSAA State Tournament in Jacksonville (Nov 1-3), NJCAA District Tournament (Nov 8-9) and NJCAA National Tournament in Hutchison, Kansas (Nov 21-23).
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