SCF VB Returns to Suncoast Action vs HCC/SPC

The SCF volleyball team (2-16, 0-3 Suncoast) are still looking for their first conference win of the season as they remain at home for Suncoast Conference play. The Manatees will welcome #15 Hillsborough (19-4, 3-1 Suncoast) on Tuesday night, October 6 at 6 pm before facing #9 St. Pete College (9-2, 2-1 Suncoast) Thursday night, October 8 at 6 pm.

Last Time Out:
The Manatees are coming off of competing in their final FCSAA Crossover matches of the season after falling 3-2 to an arrogant Palm Beach State before being shutout 3-0 to Indian River State.

Offensively, the duo of sophomore Lakeesha Esseboom and freshman Leilani Wilcox-Nanai remain the key player for kills. Esseboom leads the team with 131 kills to go with her 24 digs, while Wilcox-Nanai has 110 kills and 153 digs. In the last two matches, Esseboom had a combined 13 kills and four blocks while Wilcox-Nanai had 13 kills and 22 digs, which included a double-double against PBSC.

Freshman Gracie Carpino leads the team with 436 assists in her along with 21 aces. Carpino had 69 combined assists and two aces in both matches.

Defensively, sophomore Barbora Tichackova leads the team with 55 blocks (16 solo) and aces (22) while adding 58 kills in her name. Tichackova had six kills and seven block (three solo) in the match against PBSC, but did not provide any stats in the match against Indian River.

Another player on the defensive front is sophomore Sydney Jaco. Jaco leads the team with 355 digs while producing 1,139 career digs. Jaco had 50 combined digs in both matches. In fact, her 31 in the match against PBSC put her on the FCSAA 25 Dig Club for the fourth time this season and 16th time in her career.

Freshman Brooke Henry is third on the team with 120 digs. Henry had six combined digs in both matches.

Freshman Lisa Jaunet and sophomore Daviya Bernard have also made big contributions both offensively and defensively. Offensively, Jaunet is third on the team with 84 kills while Bernard is fourth on the team with 78 kills. Defensively, both have 25 blocks each (seven solo each).

Jaunet had one of her best matches this season as she had a double-double of 18 kills and 10 digs against PBSC, while adding a block and two aces.

Bernard had three kills and a block in the match against Indian River.

A wild card that has brought some notice is freshman Jazmin Spencer. Spencer has 44 kills and 12 blocks (six solo) in her name. Spencer had seven kills and three blocks (two solo) in her last two matches.

Scouting HCC:
The Hawks are ranked #5 in the FCSAA Coaches Poll and #11 in the NJCAA National Poll. In their last outing, the Hawks are coming off of defeating Palm Beach State (3-1) and Indian River State (3-2) in their crossover matches.

Offensively, freshman Isabel Martin leads the team with 353 kills and 25 aces while going second in digs (224). In her crossover matches, Martin had a combined 39 kills and 10 digs.

The Hawks will likely use a double setter formation with freshman Zoe Konjer and sophomore Mariana Volponi e Giordan. Konjer and Volponi e Giordan have produced a combined 877 assists (Konjer: 336,  Volponi e Giordan: 541). In their last outings, Konjer did not play against Broward and had five assists against Miami Dade while Volponi e Giordan had 82 combined assists in both matches.

Defensively, freshman middle blocker Nadine Burbrink and sophomore libero Caroline Molossi-Benke play key roles.

Burbrink leads the team with 80 blocks (23 solo) to go along with 134 kills (third on the team) and 14 aces (third on the team). Burbrink had 21 kills and five blocks in her last outings.

Following the pedigree and footsteps of her older sister and FGCU alum Vanessa Benke, Molossi-Benke leads the team with 349 digs and 16 aces (second on the team). In her last two matches, the product out of Toledo, Brazil had 20 digs and one ace.

Scouting SPC:
The Titans are ranked #3 in the FCSAA Coaches Poll and #9 in the NJCAA National Poll. They recently played in their crossover matches against Miami Dade and Broward College winning both matches by a score of 3-2 vs Miami Dade and a 3-0 shutout over Broward. The Titans will play Florida Southwestern Tuesday night in St. Pete at 6 pm.

The sophomore duo of Andressa Praise and Roberta Ribeiro lead the Titans offensively. Praise leads the team with 145 kills while Ribiero has 110. In their crossover matches, Praise had a combined 26 kills while Ribiero had 24 kills.

Defensively, Praise lead the team with 42 blocks (30 solo) while classmate Kateryna Dashevska has a team-leading 110 digs and 15 aces (2nd on the team). Dashevska had a combined 26 digs and one ace in the crossover matches.

Series History (2012-present):
Against both teams, the Manatees are 5-15 against the Hawks while against the Titans they are 7-13. The Manatees both teams earlier in the season losing 3-0 to both.

Last season, the Manatees fell to the Hawks and the Titans three times. Their last win over both teams was on October 3, 2017 (3-0 @ HCC) and October 27, 2014 (3-0 @ SPC).

How to Keep Up:
Livestream will be provided on the SCF Sports Network page.

Fans can keep up with all three teams on Twitter:
SCF: @SCFVolleyball
HCC: @vb_hawks
SPC: @spcnews

Livestream Link: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/scf/