“Today was not a loss,” said head coach Lynn Burnett. “I told the team in the beginning individually they have so much talent, but the next phase of the journey is to play as a team. When they come together as a team, we'll be unstoppable and that's what I saw today on the floor. Mental errors are not something that is learned in five weeks, it's what gets developed over time as the team learns to trust each other and that was a win because that was a team that trusted each other, fighting as one, so for that reason it wasn't a loss, it was a win because now we just continue to build off that.”
"I think we played a lot better all match," said freshman Anllel Caballero Fernandez. "I'm very happy with our work, but I think that we can fix things in the next match for us to be able to play and win with this team."
"I think out of the years at SCF volleyball, this has been one of the best we played out the first three sets," said sophomore Jazmin Spencer. "The last set was a giveaway, but we just have to focus on not making those little errors and we're definitely neck-and-neck with them. We could have potentially had a bigger lead this year and better record if we keep it up and practicing on things."
"The team worked together really well with the communication," said sophomore Jennifer Rivera. "The defense was good today and we worked so hard to get this. While yes we did lose, it was ok. We did really good playing and communicating and we had fun, which was amazing."
Caballero Fernandez was the leader for the Manatees offense as she finished with a double-double of 11 kills and 14 digs to along with two aces and two blocks. Classmate Lana Sabdanom followed with 10 kills, three digs and a block.
"I thought I did well more defensively than offense," said Caballero Fernandez on her game. "While it was not my best game, I think that as a whole, it was the best match we ever played."
"It's exciting to watch Anllel progress as a player," said Burnett on Caballero. "It's one thing to be in your home country where you have that style of offense and defense that you're used to and then all of a sudden, everything is brand new and you're trying to get acclimated to being closer to a new family being your volleyball team, so it was nice to see her mature into that role and step in to start being a leader, which was super exciting to me. I think her teammates have a lot more confidence in her for sure, as they should. She just so beautifully humble because she owns up to her own mistakes and then she's right there to be able to make up for them the very next play."
Sophomore Kaylee Forman lead the way with 31 assists, one ace and seven digs, while classmate Adelene Jideofor and Spencer followed with seven and six kills respectively. Jideofor added two digs and a block, while Spencer added an ace, four digs and two blocks.
"My game was pretty well," said Spencer. "I could have done a little better, but it just takes more reps, conditioning and discipline and I'm definitely going to be there the next time we play them."
Defensively, Rivera and sophomore Giulia Rodrigues also had strong defensive games. Rivera had three digs, two aces and one kill, while Rodrigues had five digs, four assists and one ace. In fact, it was Rivera's first match this season.
"I did pretty well," said Rivera on her game. "I hope the next game, I do better than today, but everything was good."
"Jenn was ready," said Burnett on Rivera. "It was basically like holding back the lion, we kept holding her back for a period of time and then when you put her on the floor, you unleash the beast and that's what happens."
Sophomores Kaysha Kahai-Enos (two kills, three blocks and one dig) and Lison Stoffel (two aces and three digs) also contributed for the Manatees on the stat sheet.
For the Buccaneers, freshman Maria Cecilia lead the way offensively with 14 kills, three aces, five digs and two blocks, while sophomores Maria Petkova and Riley Oglevie each had nine kills. Petkova added six digs, two aces and two blocks, while Oglevie added one block.
From the setter side, freshmen Fiona Baker and Yunju Lee had a combined 41 assists (Baker: 27; Lee: 14). Baker added six digs and two aces, while Lee added six digs.
Defensively, freshman Arianna Rossi had 12 digs in her name, while adding two assists and an ace, while classmate Deborah Ribero had five blocks to go along with four kills and one assist.
The Manatees were off to a good start as they held the Buccaneers tightly with a 14-10 lead, but after some miscommunication on the Manatees part, the Buccaneers took the lead before Petkova sealed the first set.
At the second set, the Manatees started with a 5-1 lead until the Buccaneers managed to overturn it and put themselves up 14-11, but with their focus still on point, the Manatees were able to take the second set.
"It was incredible," said Caballero Fernandez on the second set. "The feelings and vibes on the court were so incredible. I think that when we trust in each other, then the world works for us."
"Everything was working," said Burnett on the team in the second set. "They were listening to the coaching staff and instructions they were getting as they executed. Honestly, FSW played good. It wasn't like they had a lot of errors, maybe a few more than what they normally have, but this was my expectation, which is any given day we roll into a gym or we have a competitor like Miami Dade, FSW, Hillsborough. They're going to take some set and vice versa and it goes based on the errors committed in the process."
Despite the strong outing in the second set, the Manatees were not able to finish in the third and fourth set for the upset as the Buccaneers sealed it for the win.
Up Next:
The Manatees remain at home as they welcome Eastern Florida State (2-4, 0-3 Suncoast) to Hal Chasey Gymnasium Tuesday night, September 14 at 6 pm.
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