Lakewood Ranch, Fla - The SCF beach volleyball team (10-7, 7-1 Region 8) closed out the 2022 regular season with a sweep as they defeated Palm Beach State (3-4, 3-2 Region 8) 4-1 and Lake Sumter State (2-9, 0-6 Region 8) 3-2 at the UMR Sports Complex in Lakewood Ranch. Originally, the Manatees were scheduled to face St. John's River State at 3 pm, but it was switched due to Lake Sumter State's late arrival.
“The girls solidly did what they needed to do and got the job over the course of three matches in the last 24 hours,” said head coach Lynn Burnett. “They were prepped and ready for it since our time at the Mercer Bears Beach Bash when we won against Carson-Newman, which turned out to be a confidence booster for all of us in the tournament overall and helped bring us into the mindset to be here. They definitely played better this morning, even better than they did yesterday because it was the first match in two weeks, so not totally surprising with what they did with Palm Beach State, a team that was from all the other coaches that everyone is saying that it was between us and them that were sitting at the top of the leaderboard and to be them 4-1 was huge and I'm very proud of their efforts and even though we got a little tired and lazy with a lack of discipline in the last set and should have closed it against Lake Sumter 5-0, there are some things we can learn and grow on for the next couple of tournaments we're playing in. I'm very proud of this team for the culture, love and chemistry that they possessed and it has been amazing for the bars they have set for future seasons."
"I thought our team did so good all day yesterday and today," said sophomore Ana Broadhead. "We really managed in the wind well where there was an obvious good side and bad side of the court, so to speak, and our whole team did a good job winning on the good side and managing the bad side and we killed it."
"I thought we started off strong in our first set and had very good ball control in the wind, especially since it was a really windy day," said sophomore Kayla David. "Just talking to my partner (Broadhead), we did really well with that, even when this is the first time we're playing with each other against theses teams, so overall we did really well."
SCF vs PBSC:
In the first matchup, David and sophomore Anna Chechelyntska would defeat the freshman duo of Angelina Botolino and Lola Vidamour at the #2 pair 25-23, 21-16 for the first points. The Panthers would respond back with a point of their own as the sophomore Giulia Rodrigues and freshman Shelby McGee would fall in three sets to the freshman duo of Rita Campos and Amy Young 21-11, 22-24, 11-15 at the #3 pair.
The Manatees would regain the lead as the French duo of sophomore Lison Stoffel and freshman Lana Sandanom would defeat freshmen Ashleigh Desmond and Natalie Faulkner 21-13, 21-15 at the #5 pair before Broadhead and freshman Yeva Serdiuk would defeat sophomore Ashlyn Banton and freshman Nina Vallesi with a 21-17 pair decision at the #1 pair for the winner. Sophomore Kaylee Forman and freshman Taryn Wright would finish the match in three sets over freshmen Dena Otte and Mady Koons at the #3 pair by a score of 16-21, 21-17, 16-14.
After the matchup between Lake Sumter and St. John's River State, Burnett introduced the seven sophomores in their final matches of the regular season: Rodrigues, Broadhead, Stoffel, Chechelyntska, David, Forman and Carolina Moffatt.
"It's bittersweet, but the realization also hasn't set in yet because it's going to take some time for it to set into my brain," said Burnett on her sophomores playing their last season game at home. "A ton of hard work and effort has gone into it for sure and I don't take it for granted."
"There is a lot of emotions going on," said Broadhead. "It's exciting to move on and play at next level, but it's also bittersweet because this was like home to us."
"I feel like this is not over yet because while we are moving on, it was still a good vibe overall and we are all really happy to play here," said David.
SCF vs LSSC:
It would be Chechelyntska and Serdiuk that would win the first match at the #2 spot as the Ukrainian duo defeated sophomores Isabaella Ospina and Carolina Marrero 21-13, 21-7 before Rodrigues and McGee won at the #4 spot by defeating sophomore Macey McGinnis and freshman Madison Heskett 21-13, 21-19.
After the extra match, David and Broadhead would seal the deal as they won at the #1 spot over sophomores Erin Ellis and Alyssa Guarino 21-12, 21-16.
"Our match was good," said Broadhead on pairing with David. "Going into it, we were unsure of how it was going to play out because we both play right side, so when I played left in the game, I think we did a good job passing and setting well and I think the offense took care of itself and our defense was strong."
Forman and Wright fell 11-21, 16-21 at the #3 spot to sophomore Faith Horgeshimer and freshman Kaylin McCann and Stoffel and Moffatt fell in three sets at the #5 spot to freshmen Cayla Colbert and Leslie Catlett 15-21, 21-19, 7-15.
Notes:
With the final three wins of the season and conference, the Manatees were officially the inaugural NJCAA Region 8 Regular Season Champions.
"What a privilege and an honor it is to coach this team for this administration and for the support that we have for the athletics department, for this sport specifically and for what their investing into for next year and I'm very grateful," said Burnett on the winning the regular season championship.
"It feels amazing, especially with it being my last year here and I wouldn't want to end it any better way than at home," said David. "It's so exciting and I know this program has a future ahead for sure."
*Side Note: This was the first interviews I did with beach volleyball this year. David and Broadhead are the first player I interviewed.
As noted, several sophomores will be transferring after this season:
David - St. Leo University (NCAA DII) for beach volleyball
Chechelyntska - Stetson University (NCAA DI) for beach volleyball
Moffatt - Erskine College (NCAA DII) for beach volleyball
Rodrigues - UNC Asheville (NCAA DI) for indoor volleyball
Broadhead - Vanguard University (NAIA) for beach volleyball
Region 8 Standings:
1. SCF (10-7, 7-1)*#
2. PBSC (3-4, 3-2)
3. SJR (4-9, 1-3)#
4. LSSC (2-9, 0-6)
*Regular Season Champions
# Qualified for Nationals
Up Next:
The regular season may be over for the Manatees, but their journey is not as they will travel to Hickory Point Beach in Tavares for the inaugural two-day AVCA Two-Year College Championship. After that, it's onto Palatka for the JUCO Pairs Championship.
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