SCF VB Returns to Action for Broward

The SCF volleyball team (0-4) return to action as they travel  to face Broward College (1-0) at the George E. Mayer Gymnasium in Davie Wednesday night, September 4 at 6 pm.

Last Time Out:
The Manatees were originally scheduled to compete in the Patriots Invitational, hosted by College of Central Florida, and face Odessa College, Spartanburg Methodist, Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) and host CCF before traveling to Babson Park to face the Webber International JV team, however due to Hurricane Dorian, all five matches were cancelled for the safety of all the teams. The Manatees lost their home opener to Pasco-Hernando.

Sophomore Lakeesha Esseboom leads the team with 34 kills and nine blocks. Esseboom finished with 10 kills and a block in the match against Pasco-Hernando.

Trailing Esseboom offensively is freshman Leilani Wilcox-Nanai. the native of Christchurch, New Zealand has 21 kills and 40 digs in her name as well as four aces. In her match against Pasco-Hernando, Wilcox-Nanai finished with five kills.

Other players in double digit kills include sophomore Daviya Bernard (18) and freshmen Jazmin Spencer (16) and Bailey Sikkema (14). Bernard is also second on the team in blocks (8).

Freshman Gracee Carpino leads the team with 101 assists and six aces. The setter from Wellington, Florida finished the match against PHSC with 26 assists and three aces.

Defensively, aside from Esseboom and Bernard's total blocks and Wilcox-Nanai's digs, sophomore Hannah Strickland and freshman Brooke Henry continue to play big roles as defensive specialists. Strickland has 31 digs and three aces while Henry has 40 digs and two aces.

"Czech" Return:
Sophomore Barbora Tichackova made her on court return for the homer opener after missing the Santa Fe/USA Classic due to a spider bite. The native of Leberec, Czech Republic had six kills and five blocks against PHSC.

1,000 and Closing:
As she nears closer to the milestone of the 1,000 dig club, sophomore Sydney Jaco continues her path for 1,000 career digs. The local product of Braden River High School currently has 97 digs this season and has 881 digs in her career. In the home opener against PHSC, Jaco had 23 digs and three assists.

Outside of her milestone, Jaco was named to the FCSAA 25 Dig Club twice for having at least 25 digs in a match (8/23 vs Santa Fe: 26; 8/24: 34).

Scouting Broward:
The Seahawks were also originally scheduled to compete in the Patriots Invitational and face host CCF, St. Pete College, Santa Fe and Spartanburg Methodist, but due to Hurricane Dorian, they had to cancel their trip to Ocala as well for safety. Their only match they played so far was against South Florida State College where they won 3-1.

Offensively, sophomore Raytchelle Miranda had a double-double of 15 kills and 13 digs while classmate Mia Thomas had 39 assists. Defensively, freshmen Kawana Jeronimo and Yasmin Figueirdo lead the team with a combined 13 blocks while classmate Bruna Torres has 10 digs and four aces.

Series History (2012-present):
This will be the third time both teams as they split the series at 1-1. In the first meet, SCF shutout Broward 3-0 (9/21/12) before the Seahawks won 3-2 (9/12/18).

How to Keep Up:
Fans can keep up to date with both teams on Twitter:
SCF- @SCFVolleyball
Broward- @BrowardATH