Rockford, Illinois - The SCF volleyball team (2-4) wrapped up their weekend at the NJCAA Opening Weekend Tournament at the RV Health Sports Factory in Rockford, Illinois with a split as they shutout Ancilla College at Marian University (0-2) 3-0 (25-11, 25-8, 25-14) before falling to #1 Parkland College (3-1) 3-1 (12-25, 14-25, 25-22, 15-25).
"I was very impressed by their resilience, grit and ability to go with the flow as the rotations and lineups changed several times," said head coach Lynn Burnett. "They had such a great attitude and definitely were all in. While we did lose to Parkland, facing them was a solid because we were ready for that and excited about facing the number one team in the nation and defending champions. The girls expressed how they would much rather play a team like that than any other team earlier in the day that was easy and just junky, but Parkland has an incredible middle, a big block that they know how to run it effectively through the seams and our girls just hung in there with them and we found ways to score from many of our players. Lana had an incredible match as well as Shelby Pillow, so to see what they implemented the whole way and what was a beatable team is incredible."
"One of the big takeaways from this weekend was that this team can truly compete with the top teams in the country as we look to make our journey to Iowa."
SCF vs Ancilla:
The first set saw the Manatees off to a fast 5-0 start after a kill from freshman Caelen Cook, a kill and block from classmate Shelby Pillow, an ace from freshman Kendall Steinert and a Charger attack error before the Chargers called timeout and got their first point from a Manatee block error. The Manatees would however recover as sophomore Katarina McCall, who made her first start at libero, hit two straight aces before classmate Lana Sandanom hit two kills of her own to make it 13-4 before sealing the first set with a kill to the right back-row with an assist from McCall.
The Manatees would get off to another 5-0 run off the bats thanks to kills from Cook and Sandanom and an advantage of a service and attack error from the Chargers before they got their first point. The Manatees would not be blundered as Sandanom would continue getting kills, while McCall got another ace before the Chargers called a timeout.
After the Chargers got their seventh point, with the score 13-7 SCF, the Manatees would get seven straight points before the Chargers got their final point on a Manatee attack error, but it would barely faze the Manatees as Pillow (three kills and one solo block) and Sandanom (one kill) secured the final five points to take the second set.
In the third set, the Manatees faced a tough start as the Chargers scored four straight points off a couple of attack errors and were down 4-1, but another kill/solo block combo by Pillow and a Charger ball-handling tied the game at 4-4 before Sandanom and freshmen Bella Rebimbas and Haley Rhoads made it 10-6 SCF with kills of their own.
The Manatees diminished after a timeout and a serving error from freshman Kloe Pinto, an attack error from Rhoads and a couple of Charger kills make it 12-12 before the Chargers took their first lead and forced the Manatees to call a timeout. After the timeout and a Charger service error, the Manatees regained the lead off of a Rhoads ace and two Charger ball-handling errors to make it 16-13. From there, despite a few hiccups, it was smooth sailing for the Manatees as Stoffel would seal the third set with a final ace for the win.
Sandanom lead the Manatees offense for the second time this season as she set a new career-high with 16 kills. Pillow would follow as well as lead the defense as she finished with 13 kills and three solo blocks.
Steinert would finish with a double-double of 20 assists and 16 digs to go along with two kills and an ace in two sets. Stoffel took charge in the remainder of the match at the setter position as she finished with four assists, two aces and six digs.
Alongside Pillow's defense, Rebimbas had 14 digs and three kills, while McCall finished with seven digs, three assists and two aces.
Cook (four kills and one dig), Rhoads (three aces and two digs) and freshmen Rachel Carrol (six digs), Kloe Pinto (three digs) and Emily Lyons (one dig) also contributed in the match.
SCF vs #1 Parkland:
The first set was a struggle in for the Manatees as Steinert would only be pulled after a minor injury to the cheek. Burnett would then make an adjustment to the lineup as Stoffel would switch from defensive specialist to setter and put Pinto in to finish part of the set, but the Manatees would fall in the end of the set.
Set two was a little bit better for them as they fought to keep it close even with the Cobras taking the set.
The Manatees were stubborn in the third set as they did not want to get shutout like the match against Grand Rapids CC as they put their grit to the test. While they started rocky being down 3-0, they would get their first point off of a double block by Sandanom and Pillow, which would be followed by a Carroll ace and a Cobra attack error to tie it at 3-3. The set would go back-and-forth between ties and lead changes for the Manatees until a Pillow kill and a McGee ace extended the Manatees lead in the set by three before the Cobras called timeout after the Manatees lead went up to 19-14. After the timeout, the Cobras creeped to cut the deficit to three, but the Manatees continued to fight as Sandanom hit a final kill to give the Manatees the third set up by three.
The fourth set gave the Manatees some momentum, but it was not enough for them as the Cobras kept the lead with a final ace for the win.
Sandanom lead the way offensively as she finished with 11 kills and four blocks (one solo). She finished with a combined 59 kills and 12 blocks. Pillow followed suit while leading the defense as she finished with eight kills, one assist and three blocks, while Rebimbas finished with eight kills and one dig.
Stoffel lead the way with a career-high 26 assists, two kills and five digs, while Steinert was limited to four assists and two digs after the injury.
Defensively, McGee had 18 digs, one assist and one ace, while McCall added seven digs and two aces.
Rhoads (five kills, one ace and two digs), Cook (two kills and one dig), Carroll (one aces and eight digs) and freshman Kloe Pinto (two digs) also contributed in the match.
Notes:
McCall made her debut after transferring from Penn State Beaver University (USCAA).
Up Next:
The Manatees return back to Florida as they will travel to Trinity to wrap up their eight match road trip with a tri-match against NCCAA teams Trinity College of Florida and Johnson University - Florida Thursday afternoon, August 25 at 2 and 4:30 pm.
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