SCF VB Sweeps Ave Maria

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF volleyball team (7-9, 2-4 Sun Lakes South) pulled off another win in scrimmage as they swept the Ave Maria University JV team 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-18).

"I thought it was a little bit of a rough start from a communication and ball-handling standpoint," said sophomore Amee Beedle. "As the sets went on, we got better at communicating with a lot of energy overall, which helped our performance."

"I think overall it was a little rocky, but we came together as a team when we started communicating and getting the balls more and it got better over time," said freshman Kloe Pinto.

In the first set, communication was an issue, but after some adjustments, the Manatees were able to close the first set from a Gyrene ball-handling error.

The second set saw the Gyrenes take control briefly, but with hearts of determination the Manatees sealed the second set after a kill from freshman Haley Rhoads.

In the third set, the Manatees made a couple more adjustments as freshman Shelby Pillow sealed the deal with a kill to the back left row for the win.

Two Manatees lead the way with a double-double. It was Beedle that lead the offense as she finished with a double-double of 12 kills, 15 digs, two aces and two blocks. 

“I thought the defense was a little sloppy because I missed a few spots, but I started to pick it up when I got more aggressive,” said Beedle on her game.

Sophomore Lison Stoffel would also get a double-double of 33 assists and 10 digs to go along with two kills.

Lowe followed Beedle’s offensive game as she finished with nine kills and one block, while Pinto would round out the order with seven kills, 10 digs and two aces.

“I think I did good out there,” said Pinto on her game. "I think I'm glad that my serves went over because I've been working really hard on it and making sure that they stay in the court, so that's something I've been working on and I'm glad I got to hit right side, especially since it's a position that I'm not used to, but I'm glad I adapted to it pretty well."

Defensively, freshman Rachel Carroll lead the way with 22 digs, one kill, four assists and one ace, while classmate Emily Lyons added 11 digs, two kills and two aces.

Pillow (four kills, four digs and a block), Rhoads (three kills and one block) and freshmen Caelen Cook (four kills, three digs and an ace) also contributed in the match.

Notes:

Lowe and Beedle were able to play due to the match being a scrimmage.

The match against Trinity College of Florida was supposed to take place after the scrimmage between Ave Maria JV and St. Pete College, but it was rescheduled to Thursday, October 13 due to not having enough players eligible to play.

Sophomores Lana Sandanom and Shelby McGee and freshmen Kendall Steinert, Bailey Perry and Bella Rebimbas were the only ones that did not play as they were resting.

Other Sun Lakes Scores:

St. Pete College (4-7, 2-4 Sun Lakes South) swept Ave Maria JV 3-0 in Bradenton.

Pasco-Hernando State (7-11, 3-5 Sun Lakes South) swept Johnson University Florida (3-6, 2-0 NCCAA) 3-0. The Panthers will play Santa Fe College (4-6, 0-5 Suncoast) Wednesday night, September 28 at 6 pm.

In the battle of two teams unbeaten in conference play that are nationally ranked, #11 Gulf Coast State (14-0, 6-0 Sun Lakes North) defeated RV St. John's River State (12-9, 5-1 Sun Lakes North) 3-1. The Commodores will take on Lake Sumter State and Andrew College (5-5) Saturday afternoon, September 24 at noon and 2 pm, while the Vikings take on #16 Pensacola State on the same day at 1 pm.

#16 Pensacola State (10-6, 4-2 Sun Lakes North) were upset by Lake Sumter State (6-7, 3-4 Sun Lakes North) by a score of 3-1. The Lakehawks will take on Gulf Coast State and Andrew College in a tri-match on Saturday afternoon, September 24 at noon and 4 pm.

Sun Lakes Conference Standings:

North -

1. #11 Gulf Coast State (14-0, 6-0)

2. #13 St. John's River (12-9, 5-1)

3. RV Pensacola State (10-6, 4-2)

4. FSCJ (3-2, 3-2)

5. LSSC (6-7, 3-4)

South - 

1. PBSC (4-6, 3-4)

2. PHSC (7-11, 3-5)

3. SCF (7-9, 2-4)

4. SPC (4-7, 2-4)

5. SFSC (3-7, 2-5)

Up Next:

The Manatees remain at home as they welcome Florida State College at Jacksonville (3-2, 3-2 Sun Lakes North) Saturday afternoon, September 24 at 1:30 pm. The SCF beach volleyball team will be recognized for winning the inaugural AVCA Two-Year College National Championship last season.

The following players will be in attendance:

Anna Chechelyntska

Kaylee Forman

Essence Bundrage

Danielle Conover

Kayla David

Yeva Serdiuk

Taryn Wright

Lison Stoffel

Lana Sandanom

Shelby McGee

Guilia Rodrigues, Carolina Moffatt and Ana Broadhead will be in attendance via Zoom.

SCF VB Readies for Home Matches

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF volleyball team (7-10, 2-5 Sun Lake South) will look to bounce back in Sun Lakes Conference play at Hal Chasey Gymnasium as they face St. Pete College (5-7, 2-5 Sun Lakes South) Tuesday night, October 11 before taking on Trinity College of Florida (2-8, 1-1 NCCAA South Region) Thursday night, October 13 for non-conference play. Both matches will start at 6 pm

Last Time Out:

The Manatees are coming off of a 3-2 loss to Florida State College at Jacksonville at home this past Saturday.

Rescheduling Shuffle:

Due to the arrival of Hurricane Ian hitting the Tampa Bay area, a few of the Manatees' matches have been either postponed to another date or cancelled. The statuses of the following matches are as listed:

@ Webber International JV scrimmage (9/29): cancelled 

vs Palm Beach State (10/1): Pushed back to Wednesday night, October 26 at 6 pm

@ Pasco-Hernando State (10/5): Pushed back to Monday night, October 17 at 6 pm.

Sun Lakes Standings:

North - 

1. #10 GCSC (16-0, 7-0)

2. #19 SJR (13-9, 6-1)

3. Florida State College at Jacksonville (4-2, 4-2)

4. Pensacola State (10-7, 4-3)

5. Lake Sumter State (7-8, 3-5)

South -

1. Palm Beach State (4-6, 3-4)

2. Pasco-Hernando (7-12, 3-6)

3. St. Pete (5-7, 2-5)

4. SCF (7-10, 2-5)

5. South Florida State (4-8, 2-6)

Playoff Hopes:

The Manatees still have a chance to make it to the FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 Gulf District Volleyball Tournament in Palatka, but in order to make the dream a reality they have to finish in at least third place in their division to qualify as one of eight teams (seven from Region 8, one from Region 23 (MLJCC)). They would have to keep winning the remainder of their conference matches to do so or win an at-large bid for it.

Sophomore Lana Sandanom leads the team's offense with 191 kills (#2 in the state, #51 in the nation) and 16 blocks. Against FSCJ, the one-time FCSAA Player of the Week had 10 kills in two sets before sustaining an injury.

Freshmen Caelen Cook and Haley Rhoads follow suit with Sandanom offensively. Cook has 131 kills (#13 in the state, #155 in the nation), 62 digs and 11 blocks, while Rhoads has 126 kills (#14 in the state, #170 in the nation), 40 digs and 37 blocks (11 solo; #6 in the state, #124 in the nation). Cook had nine kills, six digs and a block against FSCJ, while Rhoads had a season-high 14 kills, one dig and one block.

Defensively, the Manatees are currently #37 in the nation in digs and leading the path are sophomores Shelby McGee and Lison Stoffel and freshmen Rachel Carroll and Bella Rebimbas.

McGee currently leads the team with 251 digs (#3 in the state, #69 in the nation) to go along with 15 aces and 32 assists. She lead the way with 18 digs and two assists against FSCJ.

Stoffel had 17 digs, two assists and two aces against FSCJ. She currently has 171 digs, 64 assists and 24 aces (#12 in the state, 160 in the nation)

Carroll, who rotated between libero and defensive specialist, currently has 97 digs and 11 aces so far. She had 14 digs and one assist against FSCJ.

Rebimbas, who is the hybrid player offensively and defensively, currently has 115 kills (#20 in the state, #213 in the nation), 13 aces and 193 digs (#8 in the state, #143 in the nation). The Naples native had 11 kills, four digs and an ace against FSCJ.

Freshman Shelby Pillow leads the defensive in the front row with 42 blocks (15 solo; #3 in the state, #97 un the nation) and 114 kills (#22 in the state, #219 in the nation). Pillow had 12 kills and one block against FSCJ.

Double-Double Machine:

Freshman Kendall Steinert has been the main puzzle pieces that kept the Manatees' attacks in order. Steinert 563 assists (#2 in the state, #14 in the nation), 32 aces (#4 in the state, #71 in the nation), 182 digs (#10 in the state, #165 in the nation) and 10 double-doubles of assists and digs (four straight and counting). The Englewood native secured her fourth straight double-double of 58 assists (career-high) and 16 digs to go along with four aces.

Wildlife:

Since returning from her injury in the beginning of the season, freshman Bailey Perry has been the wildcard player and has made her intentions known. Perry currently has 21 kills and 56 digs. She had eight kills and 13 digs against FSCJ.

Scouting SPC:

The Titans are coming off of wins over Ave Maria University JV (3-0) in Bradenton and Webber International JV (3-1). They are currently in third place in the division.

Sophomore Bianca Johnson leads the Titans offense with 176 kills and seven blocks (three solo), while Madison Clark follows with 134 kills and eight blocks (two solo). The defense is lead by Amber Werkmeister who has 96 digs, while sophomore Alexandra Wright leads with 10 blocks (five solo) and 16 kills.

The Titans hold an 11-9 lead in the overall series.

Scouting Trinity:

The Tigers, who play in the NCCAA, are entering the matchup on a four-match losing streak after losing to Florida College (NAIA) 3-0.

Cheyenne Field lead the Tigers offense and defense with 100 kills, 80 digs, 13 aces and 14 blocks, while Yana Short follows with 46 kills and 13 blocks.

The Manatees played the Tigers earlier in the season where they won 3-0 in New Port Richey.

How to Keep Up:

Both matches at home against SPC and Trinity will air on the SCF Sports Network. Fans can also keep up with the Manatees on social media

Livestream Links -

SCF @ PHSC: https://www.youtube.com/c/PHSCWomensVolleyball/featured

SCF vs SPC and SCF vs Trinity: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/scf/

Social Media Links -

Instagram: @volleyball_SCF

Twitter: @SCFVolleyball

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SCFvolleyball

SCF VB Falls in Nail-Biting Five Sets

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF volleyball team (7-10, 2-5 Sun Lakes South) were put to the test at home with a injury bug as they fell to Florida State College at Jacksonville (4-2, 4-2 Sun Lakes North) 3-2 (25-18, 23-25, 22-25, 25-19, 9-15) in a nail-biting matchup.

"Overall, their defense was really solid and I was very happy with that," said head coach Lynn Burnett. "Even when we made some switches and shifts, which was an obvious, they still stepped up and I'm very proud of them."

"We did really good, despite losing our strongest hitter in Lana," said freshman Rachel Carroll. "It's really tough on us losing our powerhouse because she puts the ball down, knows what she's doing on the court. While she was down, we did our best to fight for her to keep it going. Overall, we did good, but we just need to work on communication."

The first set saw the Manatees push themselves hard as sophomore Lana Sandanom would seal the first set with a kill, but the second set became the downfall for the Manatees power as Sandanom would exit the match with a knee injury as the Blue Wave took the set.

After the Blue Wave took the third set, with hopes seeming to dwindle away, the Manatees would continue to fight as freshman Bella Rebimbas would seal the fourth set with a kill before the Blue Wave claimed the final set off of a kill.

Four Manatees would lead the offense with double digit kills, while five had a strong defensive game in double digit digs.

It was freshman Haley Rhoads that would lead the way as she finished with a season-high 14 kills, one assist, one dig and one block. Classmate Shelby Pillow would follow with 12 kills, one dig and two blocks (one solo), while Rebimbas added 11 kills, one ace and four digs. Sandanom would round out the order with 10 kills before leaving the match from injury.

Freshman Kendall Steinert lead the way in setting as the reigning NJCAA Setter of the Week finished with her 10th double-double of the season with a career-high 58 assists, 16 digs, four aces and three kills.

"Kendall made some very good decisions against a really tough team defensively," said Burnett on Steinert. "I think the other team really stepped up with their middle blocker and made some adjustment to our attacks and yet she still kept finding those little opportunities."

Defensively, sophomore Shelby McGee lead the way with 18 digs and two assists, while classmate Lison Stoffel followed with 17 digs, two assists and two aces. Carroll finished with 14 digs and one assist, while freshman Bailey Perry rounded out the order with 13 digs and eight kills.

"I thought I did really well, especially when I was moved from left back to the middle back and left again," said Carroll on her game. "I felt like I did what I could and that's what they expect from them.

Freshman Caelen Cook also contributed in the match with nine kills, six digs and a block.

Notes:

Prior to the start of the match, Burnett and SCF vice president Brittany Nielsen presented awards and recognition to the SCF beach volleyball team after winning the inaugural AVCA Two-Year College Championship in Tavares.

Steinert's 58 assists were the third highest in a match in SCF program history.

Other Sun Lakes Scores:

#11 Gulf Coast State (16-0, 7-0 Sun Lakes North) defeated Lake Sumter State (7-8, 3-5 Sun Lakes North) 3-1 and Andrew College (3-7) 3-0. The Commodores will take on #16 Pensacola State College Wednesday night, September 28 at 6 pm. The Lakehawks also defeated Andrew College 3-0 and will take on Santa Fe College (4-7, 0-6 Suncoast) Tuesday night, September 26 at 6 pm.

RV St. John's River State (13-9, 6-1 Sun Lakes North) upset #16 Pensacola State (10-7, 4-3 Sun Lakes North) 3-0. The Vikings will take on Florida State College at Jacksonville Wednesday night, September 28 at 6 pm, while the Pirates will play in a tri-match against Enterprise State CC (6-9, 6-7 ACCC) and Lurleen B. Wallace CC (9-8, 7-7 ACCC) Monday, September 26 at 2 and 6 pm.

Sun Lakes Standings:

North - 

1. #11 GCSC (16-0, 7-0)

2. RV SJR (13-9, 6-1)

3. Florida State College at Jacksonville (4-2, 4-2)

4. #16 Pensacola State (10-7, 4-3)

5. Lake Sumter State (7-8, 3-5)

South -

1. Palm Beach State (4-6, 3-4)

2. Pasco-Hernando (7-11, 3-5)

3. SCF (7-10, 2-5)

4. St. Pete (4-7, 2-5)

5. South Florida State (4-8, 2-6)

Up Next:

Due to Hurricane Ian coming in, the Manatees had to push back and cancel a few matches. They will be back in action on the road against Pasco-Hernando State (7-11, 3-5 Sun Lakes South) on Wednesday night, October 5 at 6 pm at the PHSC Conference Center in New Port Richey.

Sandanom, Steinert Take FCSAA DII Weekly Awards

Bradenton, Fla - Sophomore Lana Sandanom and freshman Kendall Steinert took home two of the FCSAA DII Weekly Volleyball Awards to represent SCF volleyball, as announced by the FCSAA. Sandanom took the Player of the Week award for her first career award, while Steinert took the Setter of the Week award for the second time this season.

Lana Sandanom:

Sandanom, who averaged 4.1 kills, 0.8 digs and 0.3 blocks per set in nine sets, is coming off of her best offensive outings against South Florida State where she had a career-high 25 kills and six digs.

Sandanom is the first Manatee to earn the player of the week accolade since Jazmin Spencer did so during the 2021 spring season*

*Side Note: Spencer won the award when the Manatees were in the Suncoast Conference (FCSAA DI).

Kendall Steinert:

Steinert averaged 10.3 assists per set in nine sets this week. She had three straight double-doubles in the last three matches, which included her first 50+ assist match in her collegiate career against South Florida State.

The Manatees return to action on Friday, September 23 against Ave Maria University JV and Trinity College of Florida at 2 and 6 pm.

SCF VB Hosts Second Three-Match Homestead

Bradenton, Fla - After a lite road trip, the SCF volleyball team (7-9, 2-4 Sun Lakes South) return back home to Hal Chasey Gymnasium for four straight home matches. The Manatees will open with a tri-match as they welcome Ave Maria University JV team (0-3, 0-2 Sun)* and Trinity College of Florida (2-6, 1-1 NCCAA) Friday, September 23 at 2 and 6 pm (2 pm vs Ave Maria JV; 6 pm vs Trinity). They will then continue Sun Lakes Conference play as they welcome Florida State College at Jacksonville (4-2, 3-2 Sun Lakes North) Saturday afternoon, September 24 at 3 pm before wrapping it up against St. Pete College (3-7, 2-5 Sun Lakes South) Wednesday night, September 28 at 6 pm.

*The match vs Ave Maria JV is ruled as a scrimmage.

The match against FSCJ was pushed to to 1:30 as head coach Lynn Burnett will recognize the members of the 2022 SCF beach volleyball team after winning the inaugural AVCA Two-Year College Championship in Tavares and the JUCO Pairs Championship in Palatka. The recognition will start at 1 pm.

Last Time Out:

The Manatees are coming off of a nail-biting 3-2 victory over South Florida State College in Avon Park. As a result of the win, the Manatees moved up to first place in the standings for the first time since 2014.

Sun Lakes Conference Standings:

North -

1. #15 Gulf Coast State (12-0, 5-0)

2. #13 St. John's River (11-5, 5-0)

3. RV Pensacola State (9-5, 4-1)

4. FSCJ (3-2, 3-2)

5. LSSC (5-7, 2-4)

South - 

1. SCF (7-9, 2-4)

2. SPC (3-6, 2-4)

3. PBSC (2-6, 2-4)

4. PHSC (5-11, 2-5)

5. SFSC (3-7, 2-5)

Sandanom Got it Going on:

Sophomore Lana Sandanom is currently ranked #23 in the nation (#1 in the state) in kills. Currently, Sandanom has 181 kills, 24 digs and 16 blocks. Against South Florida State, the native of France had one of her career-best offensive matches as she finished with 25 kills (a new career-high) and six digs.

Pillow Fight:

Freshman Shelby Pillow remains as one of the top blockers for the Manatees defense. Pillow currently has 102 kills (#13 in the state, #140 in the nation) and 41 blocks (15 solo: #2 in state, #55 in the nation). Despite being held to two blocks, Pillow had one of her best outings offensively as she had 10 kills against South Florida State.

Hybrid Life:

Freshman Bella Rebimbas has been the predominant hybrid player of the team offensively and defensively. Rebimbas has 105 kills (#152 nationally, # in state), 196 digs (#59 nationally, # in state), 12 aces and 14 blocks. Against South Florida State, the Naples native had 13 digs, on kills and an ace.

National Offense Tunes:

Freshmen Haley Rhoads and Caelen Cook have also been making noise nationally with Sandanom, Pillow and Rebimbas. Rhoads has 112 kills (#124 Nationally, #13 in state), 42 digs and 37 blocks (12 solo) this season, while Cook has 122 kills (#99 nationally, #8 in state), 57 digs and 11 blocks. Against South Florida State, Rhoads had nine kills, three digs and five blocks (one solo), while Cook had seven kills, seven digs and one assist.

Hey Bailey Bailey:

Freshman Bailey Perry had one of her best offensive outings in the front row since her ankle injury in the first match of the season. Perry secured her first collegiate double-double of 10 kills and a team-leading 18 digs against South Florida State. She currently has 13 kills and 43 digs this season.

Double-Double Steinert Trouble:

For freshman Kendall Steinert, she has been one of the glues to setting up the kills. Steinert currently has 505 assists (#1 in state, #7 in the nation), 28 aces, 167 digs (#5 in the state, #96 nationally) and 19 blocks (four solo). She earned her ninth double-double against South Florida State of 50 assists, 13 digs, 

one ace and one block.

Digging Up a Storm:

Sophomores Shelby McGee and Lison Stoffel and freshman Rachel Carroll have been on high digging streaks thus far. 

McGee is currently leading the team with 233 digs (#3 in the state, #45 in the nation) and 15 aces. She had nine digs and two aces against South Florida State.

Playing at the defensive specialist role, Stoffel had nine digs in her last outing while having 154 digs, 22 aces and 62 assists this season. 

Carroll, who has been the starting libero the last two matches, currently has 83 digs and 11 aces in her name. She had 12 digs and two aces in her last outing.

Scouting Trinity College of Florida:

The Tigers are entering the match up on a three-match losing streak after falling to Pensacola Christian (3-0), Toccoa Falls College (3-0) and Florida National (3-0) at the NCCAA DII South Region Kickoff.

Cheyenne Field lead the Tigers offense and defense with 99 kills, 76 digs, 13 aces and 12 blocks, while Yana Short follows with 41 kills and 13 blocks.

The Manatees played the Tigers earlier in the season where they won 3-0 in New Port Richey.

Scouting FSCJ:

The Blue Wave are currently in fourth place in conference after winning the last two conference matches against Pasco-Hernando State and Lake Sumter State by scores of 3-2. They will play Edward Waters University (NAIA) Tuesday night, September 20 at 6 pm, prior to playing SCF.

Sophomore Ava Pringle leads the offense with 63 kills and 71 digs, while classmates Althea Sandoval and Alanah Best follow with 41 and 40 kills respectively. Sandoval also has 53 digs and eight blocks, while Best adds 20 solo blocks.

Aside from Best's 20 blocks, sophomore Brooklyn Schaefer has 95 digs in her name.

The series between both teams is tied at 1-1.

Scouting the Titans:

The Titans are in second place in the Sun Lakes South Division (behind SCF) and are coming off of a 3-1 loss against South Florida State.

Sophomore Bianca Johnson leads the Titans offense with 121 kills and six blocks, while Madison Clark follows with 94 kills and six blocks. The defense is lead by Amber Werkmeister who has 79 digs.

The Titans hold an 11-9 lead in the overall series.

How to Keep Up:

The matches, including the scrimmage, will air on the SCF Sports Network and fans can keep up with the team on all forms of social media:

Livestream link - https://portal.stretchinternet.com/scf/

Social Media -

Instagram: @volleyball_SCF

Twitter: @SCFVolleyball

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SCFvolleyball

General Admission is $5 and $3 for children/seniors

Students that show their student ID will gain free admission to all matches.

Sandanom's 25 Lifts SCF VB Over South Florida State

Avon Park, Fla - Sophomore Lana Sandanom’s offensive spark and a game-winning kill from freshman Bailey Perry helped the SCF volleyball team (7-9, 2-4 Sun Lakes South) win on the road as they defeated South Florida State (2-7, 1-5 Sun Lakes South) 3-2 (18-25, 25-12, 22-25, 25-12, 15-5) at the Panther Gym in Avon Park. With the win, the Manatees are now 13-4 against the Panthers and have moved up to first place in the Sun Lakes Conference.

“The team recovered well from errors and did an exceptional job in following directions from the coaches and pull themselves together by finding the holes over the block and serving aggressively,” said head coach Lynn Burnett. “The communication was fantastic."

“We did really good overall today,” said Sandanom. “Everyone was just running to get every ball and our defense was pretty good with the communication compared to the other matches and our energy was amazing, so I thought we did great and it was fun.”

“I think we did really good overall,” said Perry. “The first set was a little wonky for us, but after that we started getting into the groove, talking a lot more and we were just dominating. Most of our points were off of South Florida State's errors and mistakes. Other than that, we did really good and got the win.”

“I think we did pretty well overall,” said freshman Bella Rebimbas “In the first set, we didn't play as well but we came back with a lot of energy and we fought back to force the fifth set and that's why we stayed up the whole time.”

“I think the team did absolutely amazing overall,” said freshman Shelby Pillow. "The connection was immaculate, everybody was talking to each other and trusted each other. We played like a team should have played. It was a huge amount of teamwork that also helped us out a lot that we got Bailey (Perry) back in the rotation. She did fantastic and everybody really showed out."

“I think we did really well,” said freshman Kendall Steinert. “The first set was a little rocky due to the passing, but our communication was really well.”

The first set saw in favor of the Panthers taking the first set off of a tip kill, but the Manatees returned the favor as sophomore Shelby McGee sent an ace down the middle to give the Manatees the second.

While the third belonged to the Panthers, it was still a dog fight for the Manatees as Sandanom secured the fourth set for the Manatees with a kill and forced a fifth.

After being up 3-2 in the fifth set, the Manatees went on a 6-0 run with freshman Rachel Carroll serving. After a few more adjustments, Perry would seal it with a kill to the left to give the Manatees their first five-set win.

Three Manatees lead the way offensively. Sandanom was the main leader as she finished with a career-high 25 kills and six digs. 

“It felt amazing,” said Sandanom on her setting a new career-high. "I was shocked, but I'm really proud because my goal is to put the ball on the floor, so I'm very proud of that."

Perry would get her first collegiate double-double as she finished with a season-high 10 kills, a team-leading and season-high 18 digs, one assist, two aces and three blocks.

"It was my first match back playing front row since my injury during the NJCAA Weekend Tournament in Illinois," said Perry on getting the game-winning kill. “It was just amazing. The fact I came back strong and was able to help out my team as much as I can."

"Bailey and Lana played amazing," said Pillow on Perry and Sandanom. "They're so hard-working and deserved everything that they earned today. They were so aggressive and just played amazing."

"I watched Bailey's confidence grow every play in set over set," said Burnett on Perry. "She just became more and more confident and was hitting over the block. She has such a fast arm swing and her placement on where she chose to put the finesse on the ball, like she had to take the trash out, it was her style."

"I'm proud of how Bailey did today," said assistant coach Craig Wolfe. "She's been so anxious to get back into the lineup after recovering from injury, but doing things the right way by getting completely healed to come back and she made the most of it today."

“Some of those kills that Lana had were complete scramble plays that are outside, dug a ball, threw it up and spiked it,” said Burnett on Sandanom. “It was amazing on so many levels. Swing line, she swung line immediately when we said it and looking for the holes and then at the end coach (Kim) Crawford said that she'll have to redesign my defense because they couldn't stop Lana."

Pillow rounded out the order with 10 kills, one assist and two blocks.

“I did really well with the help of my teammates,” said Pillow on her game. “Our defense pushing and pulling really hard to be really scrappy and get the ball enough to give Kendall (Steinert) the chance to set up to use me as an offense weapon and once we all connected, along with Haley (Rhoads), we exposed their defense and completely took over.”

Steinert would get her ninth double-double of the season as she finished with 51 assists, 12 digs, one ace and three blocks. This was Steinert's first 50+ assist match this season.

“I thought my placement on my set was really good and I thought I played really good defense,” said Steinert on her game.

"Kendall's set selection was right on point," said Wolfe on Steinert. "She made the right choices at the right time and ran the offense as it should be."

Defensively, aside from double-digit digs from Perry and Steinert, Rebimbas and Carroll would finish with 13 and 12 digs respectively. Rebimbas added one kill, one assist and an ace, while Carroll added two aces and three assists.

“I did pretty good on defense,” said Rebimbas on her defense. "I thought we were all trusting each other  to know that someone else was there and we just went for it to get the win.”

Freshman Haley Rhoads lead the way in blocking as she finished with five blocks (one solo) to go along with nine kills. while McGee added 13 digs and an ace.

McGee (nine digs and two aces), sophomore Lison Stoffel (nine digs and one assist) and freshman Caelen Cook (seven kills, seven digs and one assist) also contributed in the match.

Other Sun Lakes Scores:

Palm Beach State (2-6, 2-4 Sun Lakes South) swept Pasco-Hernando State (5-11, 2-5 Sun Lakes South) 3-0. The Panthers will face South Florida State Wedensday night, September 21 at 6 pm.

#13 St. John's River State (11-8, 5-0 Sun Lakes North) were swept and upset by Navarro College (18-2, 4-1 SJCC) by a score of 3-0 and Panola College (6-6, 1-2 SWJC) on day two of the Lee College Invitational in Texas. The Vikings will play Webber International JV Tuesday night, September 20 at 6 pm.

RV Pensacola State (9-5, 4-1 Sun Lakes North) swept Bevill State CC (1-13, 1-9 ACCC) 3-0. The Pirates will take on Lake Sumter State (5-7, 2-4 Sun Lakes North) Friday night, September 23 at 6 pm.

Sun Lakes Conference Standings:

North -

1. #15 Gulf Coast State (12-0, 5-0)

2. #13 St. John's River (11-8, 5-0)

3. RV Pensacola State (9-5, 4-1)

4. FSCJ (3-2, 3-2)

5. LSSC (5-7, 2-4)

South - 

1. SCF (7-9, 2-4)

2. SPC (3-6, 2-4)

3. PBSC (2-6, 2-4)

4. PHSC (5-11, 2-5)

5. SFSC (3-7, 2-5)

Up Next:

The Manatees will return home for four straight matches as they welcome Ave Maria University JV (0-2), Trinity College of Florida (2-7, 1-1 NCCAA) for a tri-match Friday, September 23 at 2 and 6 pm. They will then play Florida State College at Jacksonville (3-2, 3-2 Sun Lakes North) Saturday afternoon, September 24 at 3 pm before wrapping up against St. Pete College (3-6, 2-4 Sun Lakes South) Wednesday night, September 28 at 6 pm.

SCF VB Set for South Florida State

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF volleyball team (6-9, 1-4 Sun Lakes South) will now head on the road for a lite trip as they travel to Avon Park to take on South Florida State College (2-6, 1-4 Sun Lakes South) at the Panther Gymnasium Saturday afternoon, September 17 at 3 pm.

The Manatees hold the series 12-4 over the Panthers.

Last Time Out:

The Manatees are coming off of earning their first conference win in the Sun Lakes Conference as they defeated Pasco-Hernando State 3-1 at home this past Wednesday night.

Sun Lakes Conference Standings:

North - 

1. #15 Gulf Coast State (12-0, 5-0)

2. #13 St. John's River (11-4, 5-0)

3. RV Pensacola State (6-3, 4-1)

4. FSCJ (2-2, 2-2)

5. Lake Sumter (5-6, 2-3)

South - 

1. SPC (3-5, 2-3)

2. PHSC (5-10, 2-4)

3. SCF (6-9, 1-4)

4. SFSC (2-6, 1-4)

5. PBSC (1-6, 1-5)

National Noise:

Sophomores Lana Sandanom and Shelby McGee and freshmen Kendall Steinert, Bella Rebimbas, Haylee Rhoads, Caelen Cook and Shelby Pillow have been making a lot of noise not just for SCF, the Sun Lakes and the state, but nationally as well.

Sandanom, who had 11 kills, two blocks and two digs in the win over Pasco-Hernando, currently has 156 kills and 16 blocks (two solo). She is currently #1 in state in kills and #36 in the nation.

McGee had 15 digs and an ace against Pasco-Hernando State. McGee currently has 224 digs (#1 in state; #40 in nation) and 13 aces this season.

Steinert has 454 assists (8.29 per set), 154 digs, 27 aces and 18 blocks (four solo). She is #1 in the state in assists and tied for #4 in aces, while nationally, among all setters, she is #4 in digs, #5 in kills, #10 in assists, #3 in total blocks, #3 in points, #4 attacks and #4 in points per set. Steinert earned her eighth double-double of the season against Pasco-Hernando as she finished with 44 assists and 12 digs. This was her fourth match with 40+ assists.

Rebimbas, the predominant hybrid player, currently has 103 kills (#10 state, #119 nationally), 176 digs (#3 state), 14 blocks and 10 aces. She had six kills and 10 digs against Pasco-Hernando.

Rhoads is also ranked #119 in kills nationally and #10 in the state. Currently, she has 103 kills and 31 blocks (nine solo). Rhoads finished with 13 kills and five digs against Pasco-Hernando.

Cook is currently ranked #86 nationally in kills (#7 in state). She currently has 115 kills, 49 digs and 10 blocks. Against Pasco-Hernando State, Cook had 10 kills and two digs in the win.

Pillow, the main middle blocker, currently has 92 kills (#161 nationally, t-#16 state) and 39 blocks (16 solo; #2 in state; #51 nationally). She had six kills and three blocks against Pasco-Hernando.

All five hitters (Sandanom, Rebimbas, Rhoads, Cook and Pillow) were all ranked in the top-132 in kills at the DII level. No other team has done that so far.

As a team, they are ranked #11 in the nation in kills (638 and counting), #14 in digs (991), #10 in assists (591), #17 in points (760.5) and #9 in attacks (1,898). They are the only DII Florida team that is ranked the highest in kills, digs, assists and attacks.

French Connection:

Sophomore Lison Stoffel has increased a big role after switching to libero. Currently, Stoffel has 152 digs (second on the team), 59 assists and 20 aces (second on the team). She had 19 digs and two aces against Pasco-Hernando.

Wild Life:

Freshmen Rachel Carroll and Bailey Perry remain the wildcard players in the rotation. Carroll currently has 75 digs and nine aces in her name, while Perry has 26 digs in her name. Against Pasco-Hernando, Carroll surpassed her season-high with 15 digs and three aces, while Perry contributed with two digs.

Scouting South Florida State:

The Panthers are coming off of a 3-1 loss against #15 Gulf Coast State and are currently in fourth place in the south division standings while entering the contest on a five-match losing streak. They will play St. Pete College Friday afternoon, September 16, prior to playing SCF.

Freshman Jayleen Santiago currently leads the offense with 52 kills and 10 blocks. Sophomore Isabella Hurtado follows with 49 kills and 13 blocks.

Defensively, freshman Rachel Skyles leads with 16 blocks (three solo) and 32 kills, while sophomore Yeishlanie Reyes leads with 133 digs.

How to Keep Up:

Fans can keep up with the Manatees on all forms of social media

Social Media Links -

Instagram: @volleyball_SCF

Twitter: @SCFVolleyball

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SCFvolleyball

SCF VB Secures First Conference Win

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF volleyball team (6-9, 1-4 Sun Lakes South) fought tooth and nail as they secured their first conference win of the season as they defeated Pasco-Hernando State (5-10, 2-4 Sun Lakes South) 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-12, 25-19) at Hal Chasey Gymnasium. It was their first conference win in the DII Sun Lakes South Division.

“Defensively, they really came together,” said head coach Lynn Burnett. "What I tracked on stats for the first set, we gave them eight digs that we gave them on our blocking errors, but the next set we came out and cut in half and didn't look, which was huge for our defensive chances to be able to set our offense up for success and that's what we did tonight. They worked together and communicated really well and that was helped us get the win." 

“We did start off a little slow or 'sluggish in a bowl of spaghetti' as coach Lynn (Burnett) would say,” said freshman Caelen Cook. "After that, we picked it up with our energy and found a way to finish without going to five sets and that was good for us. It felt great in the end getting our first conference win since we will get a second chance to face the teams we faced earlier in the season, so it's good that we got the win to help us move up in the standings."

“Overall, we had a great defense against Pasco,” said freshman Haylee Rhoads. "I thought Rachel (Carroll) did an amazing job jumping in at the libero spot in the first set. We were killing them (Pasco-Hernando) on tips and finding open spots so we can get the win. This win was so important to us because it effects our seeding, so it was crucial that we had this win and we really needed it tonight."

The first set saw the Bobcats take advantage of several attack errors from the Manatees. While the Manatees did try to catch up and cut the deficit, a final Bobcat kill secured the first set.

After making some careful adjustments, the Manatees were able to take the second set thanks to a kill by sophomore Lana Sandanom. A few more adjustments to the rotation lead to a Cook kill in the third set before she got the final kill for the win in the fourth set.

Three Manatees lead the way in double-digit kills and five had double-digit digs. It was Rhoads that lead the way with 13 kills, four digs and one assist. Sandanom followed with 12 kills, one dig and three blocks, while Cook rounded out the order with nine kills and two digs.

"I thought I did good out there," said Rhoads on her game. "Some of the kills were miss-hits, but miss-hits are the best hits. I had to take time to adjust and was happy with my defense tonight, especially playing backrow, which is exciting."

"I definitely need to work on some of my spots and finding the floor better," said Cook on her game. "But I was a lot more aggressive on my attacks."

Freshman Kendall Steinert secured her eighth double-double of the season as she finished with 42 assists, 10 digs, one kill and one block.

Freshman Bella Rebimbas and Shelby Pillow played strong roles offensively and defensively. Both each had six kills apiece with Rebimbas adding 10 digs, one block and one ace, while Pillow added three blocks and two digs.

Defensively, alongside Rebimbas and Pillow, sophomore Shelby McGee lead the way with 15 digs and one ace. Classmate Lison Stoffel added 12 digs, two assists and two aces, while freshman Rachel Carroll added 11 digs, one assist and three aces. Freshman Bailey Perry also contributed with one dig in one set.

Other Sun Lakes Scores:

#15 Gulf Coast State (12-0, 5-0 Sun Lakes North) defeated Itawamba CC (10-2) 3-1 and Pensacola Christian (4-6, 2-2 NCCAA) 3-0. The Commodores will face Coastal Alabama - South (6-6, 5-2 ACCC) Tuesday night, September 20 at 6 pm on the road.

St. Pete College (3-5, 2-3 Sun Lakes South) defeated Lake Sumter State (5-6, 2-3 Sun Lakes North) 3-2. The Titans will play South Florida State (2-6, 1-4 Sun Lakes South) Friday night, September 16 at 6 pm, while the Lakehawks take on Florida State College at Jacksonville (2-2, 2-2 Sun Lakes North) Friday afternoon, September 16 at 4 pm.

Palm Beach State (1-6, 1-5 Sun Lakes South) got swept by #10 Hillsborough (10-3, 1-1 Suncoast) 3-0. The Panthers will take on Pasco-Hernando State Saturday afternoon, September 17 at 3 pm.

Sun Lakes Conference Standings:

North - 

1. #15 Gulf Coast State (12-0, 5-0)

2. #13 St. John's River (11-4, 5-0)

3. RV Pensacola State (6-3, 4-1)

4. FSCJ (2-2, 2-2)

5. Lake Sumter (5-6, 2-3)

South - 

1. SPC (3-5, 2-3)

2. PHSC (5-10, 2-4)

3. SCF (6-9, 1-4)

4. SFSC (2-6, 1-4)

5. PBSC (1-6, 1-5)

Up Next:

The Manatees return to the road for conference play as they travel to Avon Park to take on South Florida State Saturday afternoon, September 17 at 3 pm at the Panther Gym.

SCF VB Falls to Lake Sumter

Bradenton, Fla - Despite a strong third set, the SCF volleyball team (5-9, 0-4 Sun Lakes South) were not able to secure the win as they fell to Lake Sumter State (5-5, 2-2 Sun Lakes North) 3-1 (27-29, 18-25, 25-22, 20-25).

"They recovered from adversity and their own emotional challenges really well," said head coach Lynn Burnett. "They learned to be more patient on the longer drawn out plays and not just expect the kill and be done. "

"We were off to a rough start after a little bad behavior and misscommunication on the court," said sophomore Lison Stoffel. "We didn't play clean like we did before and that's what hurt us."

"I thought we did pretty well," said freshman Rachel Carroll. "We definitely had Lake Sumter in the bag and just had to keep on pushing and persevering. We just have to clean up a little bit, trust each more and communicate."

The first set turned into a dog fight for both teams as they both went for set point on five occasions, but the Lakehawks were able to muster together the final two points for the first set. The second set saw the Lakehawks push further to claim the second set.

Hoping to keep their hopes alive, the Manatees did not want to get swept and called timeout after taking a 24-22 lead before they took the third set after a kill by freshman Haylee Rhoads.

In the fourth set, the Manatees would try to mount a comeback, but a service error would be costly as they lost the match.

It was freshman Caelen Cook that lead the offense as she finished with 10 kills and eight digs. Sophomore Lana Sandanom followed with nine kills, two digs and one block.

Rhoads and freshmen Bella Rebimbas and Shelby Pillow rounded out the order with seven kills each. Rhoads added one assist and two blocks, while Rebimbas added 13 digs, three aces, one assist and one block and Pillow added four blocks (one solo) and two digs.

Freshman Kendall Steinert earned her seventh double-double of the season as she finished with 29 assists, 20 digs, three aces and one block.

Defensively, aside from Rebimba's 13 digs and Pillow's four bocks, Stoffel lead the way overall as she finished with a career-high 33 digs, one ace and five assists.

"I thought I did well, even while I wasn't there mentally," said Stoffel on her career record. "I still need to work on my passing a little better though, but my defense was on point."

Carroll added a new season-high 12 digs to go along with her first collegiate kill and one assist.

"I just try to keep positive, even while they were things going on," said Carroll on her game. "I just tried to keep the team motivated to succeed and I want us all of us to succeed while trying to keep the positivity up for us and a smile going."

Sophomore Shelby McGee also contributed with two kills, one ace and eight digs.

Other Sun Lakes Scores:

Florida State College at Jacksonville (2-2, 2-2 Sun Lakes North) defeated Pasco-Hernando State (5-8, 2-2) 3-2. The Blue Wave will face Lake Sumter State Friday afternoon, September 16 at 4 pm, while the Bobcats take on #15 St. John's River (10-3, 4-0 Sun Lakes North) on Sunday afternoon, September 11 at 1 pm.

#15 St. John's River swept St. Pete College (2-5, 0-3 Sun Lakes South) 3-0. The Titans will face South Florida State College (2-6, 1-4 Sun Lakes South) Friday afternoon, September 16 at 1 pm

#17 Gulf Coast State College (10-0, 5-0 Sun Lakes North) defeated South Florida State College 3-1. The Commodores will take on Itawamba CC (8-1) and Pensacola Christian (4-4, 2-2 NCCAA) in a tri-match at 2 and 6 pm.

Pensacola State (8-3, 4-1 Sun Lakes North) defeated Palm Beach State (1-5, 1-4 Sun Lakes South) 3-1. The Pirates will take on Pearl River CC (6-6) Thursday night, September 15 at 5 pm. The Panthers will take on #11 Hillsborough (9-2, 1-0 Suncoast) Wednesday night, September 14 at 6 pm.

Up Next:

The Manatees will wrap up their four-game homestead as they welcome Pasco-Hernando State Wednesday night, September 14 at 6 pm.

The Fruit of Being Low Helps SCF VB Split at Home

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF volleyball team (5-8, 0-3 Sun Lakes South) returned home to Hal Chasey Gymnasium as they split their tri-match losing a tight match to #15 St. John's River State (9-3, 3-0 Sun Lakes North) 3-2 (14-24, 25-23, 18-25, 25-12 8-15) before sweeping Morton College (6-8, 2-0 ISC) 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-19).

"I saw improvement set over set over set with some of the things we wanted to pound in," said head coach Lynn Burnett. "Whether it's getting coverage, getting low on coverage, accelerating through the ball and getting low on defense. It all started coming together in the match against Morton. It's so great because they got to see the fruits of getting low to play defense."

"It felt really good to get our first win at home," said sophomore Lison Stoffel. "We're happy to have people in the stands to come support us and it really helped us. The second match was really good even when there were some ups and downs, but it was clean, the passes were good, the sets were good, nice defense and some great kills."

"It feels so great wanting to get our first win at home for a long time," said sophomore Lana Sandanom. "I just felt really great and incredibly happy that we did it."

"I thought we played well as a team," said freshman Bailey Perry. "We finally to close a match, which was one of the biggest improvements that we made to help us and not let any other teams come back to beat us. Our defense was phenomenal and we barely served anything out. I just thought we played amazing. I felt like I had so much energy from the team and it was amazing."

SCF vs #15 St. John's River:

After the Vikings took the first set, the Manatees were able to take the second set, thanks to a kill by freshman Kendall Steinert. After trading the third and fourth set, the Vikings took advantage of attack errors from the Manatees to take the fifth set for the win.

Two players had double-digit kills with two other players getting a double-double. It was Sandanom that lead the way offensively as she finished with 13 kills and three digs. Freshman Bella Rebimbas followed with her second collegiate double-double of 11 kills and 12 digs. Freshmen Shelby Pillow and Caelen Cook rounded out the order with nine kills each. Pillow added two digs and three blocks (two solo), while Cook added three digs and two blocks.

Freshman Haylee Rhoads finished with eight kills, four blocks (three solo), two aces and three digs.

Freshman Kendall Steinert finished with her fifth double-double of the season as she finished with 45 assists, 16 digs, three kills, one ace and four blocks (three solo).

Defensively, aside from the digging from Rebimbas and Steinert and blocking from Pillow, Rhoads and Steinert, Stoffel lead the way with a 15 digs, four assists and two aces, while sophomore Shelby McGee added 14 digs, two assists and one kill and Perry added nine digs. Freshman Rachel Carroll also contributed with four digs.

"I think we did really good overall," said Stoffel on the first match. "In the first match, we did really good, but we had to clean some stuff up. We had a lot of errors from miscommunication, but overall it was pretty good and I'm proud of us. We just got to make sure that we finish the match stronger to get the last two points."

"The first match we did great," said Sandanom on the first match. "We were a little off when we were trying to get the ball, which was a little hard. We just need to get use to playing a position we were not used to playing, but overall we did great."

SCF vs Morton College:

Prior to SCF's second match, St. John's River defeated Morton College 3-2.

The first set was back and forth between the Manatees and the Panthers, but with a few adjustments and a Rhoads kill, the Manatees took the first set. The second set saw the same effects until a Morton attack error helped the Manatees with the second set. The third set became a completely different ballgame for the Manatees as Rhoads would complete the sweep with an ace for the win.

"We made sure to fix our passing, defense and offense throughout the entire second match," said Sandanom on the second match. "We were just having fun and the energy was there, so overall we did great."

Sandanom would lead the second match as she finished with a match-high 15 kills and one assist. She would finish with 28 kills combined.

"I felt a little lost on the court in the first game," said Sandanom on her game. "I usually playing left side  instead of right side and it was kind of hard to get over the block on the defense, but in the second match, I was back at my original position and I felt like it was more in control and was able to take over the block and find the holes and just get the ball on the floor."

Rhoads would follow with seven kills, one ace, one assist and six digs, while Steinert finished with 27 assists, eight digs, two blocks and one ace.

Defensively, Stoffel lead the way with 11 digs, two aces, four assists and one kill, while Rebimbas added seven kills and  nine digs.

"I'm proud of how I did," said Stoffel on her game. "Sure there were some errors that I made, but that's normal since being a libero is a new position for me but I did really good."

Cook (four kills, six digs and two blocks), Pillow (three kills, one digs and two blocks), McGee (five digs and two aces), Perry (six digs, one ace and one assist) and Carroll (one dig) also contributed in the match.

Notes:

Perry returned to the lineup for her first home matches after coming back from an ankle injury.

"It felt great to be back," said Perry on returning. "I'm so happy to be able to play again."

Other Sun Lakes Scores:

Pensacola State (7-3, 3-1 Sun Lakes North) defeated South Florida State (2-5, 1-3 Sun Lakes South) 3-1. The Pirates will take on Palm Beach State Saturday, September 10 at noon. The Panthers will take on #17 Gulf Coast State at 1 pm on September 10.

Pasco-Hernando State (5-7, 2-1 Sun Lakes South) defeated Lake Sumter State (4-5, 1-2 Sun Lakes North) 3-2. The Bobcats will take on Florida State College at Jacksonville.

#17 Gulf Coast State College (8-0, 4-0 Sun Lakes North) narrowly defeated Palm Beach State (1-3, 1-2 Sun Lakes South) 3-2.

St. Pete College (2-4, 1-2 Sun Lakes South) defeated Florida State College at Jacksonville (1-2, 1-2 Sun Lakes North) 3-2. The Titans will take on St. John's River State Saturday afternoon at noon.

Sun Lakes Standings:

North Division -

1. #17 Gulf Coast State (8-0, 4-0)

2. #15 St. John's River (9-3, 3-0)

3. Pensacola State (7-3, 3-1)

4. Lake Sumter State (4-5, 1-2)

5. Florida State College at Jacksonville (1-2, 1-2)

South Division -

1. PHSC (5-7, 2-1)

2. SFSC (2-4, 1-2)

3. SPC (2-4, 1-2)

4. Palm Beach State (1-3, 1-2)

5. SCF (5-8, 0-3)

Up Next:

The Manatees will be back in action Saturday afternoon, September 10 at 1 pm to take on Lake Sumter (4-5, 1-2 Sun Lakes North).

SCF VB Takes Scrimmage Over Webber JV

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF volleyball team (4-7, 0-2 Sun Lakes South) recovered nicely in their scrimmage against the Webber International University JV as the Manatees swept the Warriors 3-0 (26-24, 25-16, 25-14) at Hal Chasey Gymnasium.

"I was very proud of the consistency that the girls had today to work on," said head coach Lynn Burnett. "It was super fun to watch Caelen (Cook) flip back over to middle blocker and just have such versatility to do really well. Haylee (Rhoads) is always lights out and plays a phenomenal libero and her serve is ridiculous, she goes back to defend, digs and sets everything. Kendall (Steinert) was able to pull out on sets from all over the place, which was incredible."

"I think we did pretty good overall," said sophomore Amee Beedle. "I thought the energy stayed up for all three sets, which is always exciting because we always get drained. I thought we were pretty aggressive on our offense and were very scrappy on defense while putting in 100% of our effort and going for everything which was fun."

"I think the team did really good working together," said freshman Kloe Pinto. "I felt like we did a good job covering and keeping each other intense with great energy and we did a good job cleaning up mistakes we had, so it was a good job overall."

"The team did great," said freshman Emily Lyons. "We played together as one. While we didn't have quite good passing as we wanted, we worked together and were like a family. You could feel the energy off the bench, even with some of the players not playing but hyping us up and cheering us on while we got a good rally going and we definitely felt the energy through us to help us get the win."

"Overall, I think we did really good," said freshman Kendall Steinert. "Our defense was on point, our servicing was really good and our offense, even though we didn't have most of our regular players with us, they did really well. I thought Kloe (Pinto) stepped up for the outside and right side, Caelen (Cook) has always been good when she steps up to the middle and I thought we improved on our covering too."

The first set was a tough one for the Manatees, but after a few adjustments in the last two points and a Warrior attack error, they took the first before breezing through the second and third sets with ease for the win.

Freshman Haylee Rhoads lead the Manatees offensively and through her serves as she finished with 11 kill, five aces and three digs. Beedle would follow with seven kills and nine digs, while Lyons rounded out the order with six kills, 11 digs, two assists and two aces.

"The connection was a little rocky, but I finished strong in the end," said Lyons on her game. "You could definitely feel where the ball was coming, when you put it down, when to get a kill. I could feel the team hyping me up with the energy and love from them, even when I got a block. Every moment made it more impactful and big that we were all doing it together as one."

"Of course it was the first time Emily (Lyons) got to play her first home game," said Burnett on Lyons. "While she didn't get to play over this past weekend, it was good for her to play both sides and both pins and we definitely think that when she gets the experience under her belt, she will be a force to reckon with. She also has a good block and it was nice to see that."

Steinert would lead the way with a double-double of 29 assists, 14 digs, four aces, one block and three kills.

"I thought I played good defense," said Steinert on her game.

Defensively, sophomore Lison Stoffel had eight digs and two aces, while Pinto had three digs, one assist and four kills.

"I thought I did ok," said Pinto on her game. "I think I did a good job with my serves and keeping them in every time and finding where the holes were in tipping in certain areas."

Freshmen Caelen Cook (four kills and two blocks), Bella Rebimbas (seven digs and one assist) and Rachel Carroll (four digs) also contributed in the match.

Notes:

It was announced that Steinert was named the FCSAA DII Setter of the week after her outing from this past weekend.

"I'm grateful," said Steinert on winning the accolade. "I'm grateful for Coach Lynn and everyone here for their support. It was such a great opportunity for me."

"That was huge," said Burnett on Steinert winning the accolade. "I'm watching the stats and seeing her consistently putting up numbers that are the top in the state and she did it in a week where we played two out of three teams that were ranked in the nation (#12 HCC (DI), #18 Gulf Coast State (DII)) and she definitely earned that 100%. Her assists in and of themselves, if it was just that stat, would be strong enough to get her through that, but her aces, digs and hitting percentage is some of the highest in our conference so far. She's amazing."

Beedle was able to play due to the match being a scrimmage. She is ineligible to play during the season and has chosen to redshirt to work on academics, however, she will be eligible to play beach volleyball during the 2023 season.

"I thought I did ok out on the court," said Beedle on playing for the first time. "I put everything I had out there since this is one of the only few matches I'm able to play this year, but it was really exciting to be back with my team and adjust with them because we are like family. Yes, I'm upset that I can't play this season, but I'm glad I get to be a part of the team and the scrimmages."

"It actually felt good to have Amee back with us and I missed her so much," said Pinto on Beedle playing. "She played amazing as always and it was really good having her by my side."

"I played with Amee over the summer and I told everyone that she is one for us," said Lyons on Beedle playing. "She's the one that holds everything together. Amee is such a strong, dominant player on the court and you can definitely feel her presence out there and it's definitely fun to have her out there. We miss her with us."

"I felt I could always trust Amee," said Steinert on Beedle playing. "She's such a good well-rounded player and I could always trust her to try and get it over or up. When her see her run, she always runs for the ball."

"That was fun," said Burnett on Beedle playing. "We were definitely happy to have her jumping back in while having to pause and take a moment to work things out personally, which I think she's doing a good job of that. We were definitely happy to see her be able to show off what she's capable of with her serves, attacks, passing and defense. She's the whole package."

Burnette chose to rest sophomores Lana Sandanom and Shelby McGee and freshmen Bailey Perry and Shelby Pillow.

Up Next:

The Manatees will be back in action at home Friday, September 9 as they welcome #17 St. John's River State (7-3, 2-0 Sun Lakes North) and Morton College (6-6, 20 ISC) at 2 and 6 pm.

SCF VB Readies for Four-Match Homestead at Home

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF volleyball team (4-7, 0-2 Sun Lakes South) will look to bounce back for the next four straight matches at home. The Manatees will welcome the developmental team from Webber International University (0-2) to Hal Chasey Gymnasium Tuesday night, September 6 at 6 pm for a scrimmage.

They will then start by welcoming #17 St. John's River State (7-3, 2-0 Sun Lakes North) and Morton College (6-6, 2-0 ISC) Friday, September 9 at 2 and 6 pm (2 pm vs St. John's River State; 6 pm vs Morton College)* before wrapping up the five-match homestead with Lake Sumter State (4-4, 1-1 Sun Lakes North) Saturday afternoon, September 10 at 1 pm and Pasco-Hernando (4-7, 1-1 Sun Lakes South) Wednesday night, September 14 at 6 pm.

*Morton College and St. John's River State will play each at 4 pm at Hal Chasey Gymnasium.

Sun Lakes Standings:

North -

1. #18 Gulf Coast State (7-0, 3-0)

2. #17 St. John's River State (7-3, 2-0)

3. Pensacola State (6-3, 2-1)

4. FSCJ (1-1, 1-1)

5. Lake Sumter State (4-4, 1-1)

South - 

1. Pasco-Hernando (4-7, 1-1)

2. South Florida State (2-3, 1-2)

3. Palm Beach State (1-3, 1-2)

4. SCF (4-7, 0-2)

5. St. Pete (1-4, 0-2)

Last Time Out:

The Manatees are coming off of losing their first two conference matches on the road. They would fall 3-2 to #18 Gulf Coast State College in Panama before being swept 3-0 by Pensacola State in Pensacola. This is the first season for the Manatees being in the Sun Lakes Conference. Currently, the Manatees are in fourth place in the Sun Lakes South Division.

Sandanom Strikes Hard:

Sophomore Lana Sandanom has been leading the way for the Manatees on the offensive end. Sandanom currently has 107 kills, 12 digs and 12 blocks (two solo). In the last two matches, she put together 24 combined kills.

Ring the Bells:

For freshman Bella Rebimbas, she has been the hybrid player for both the offense and defense. Rebimbas currently has 72 kills (third on the team), 132 digs (second on the team) and 12 blocks. In her match against Gulf Coast State, the Naples native put together her first collegiate double-double of 16 kills and 16 digs.

Shelby(s) on the Defense:

Sophomore Shelby McGee and freshman Shelby Pillow have been the key anchors for the Manatees defense. McGee leads with 182 digs, 28 assists and nine aces, while Pillow has 27 blocks (12 solo) and 67 kills (fifth most).

Steinert Still Setting Up:

Freshman Kendall Steinert remains the anchor in serving and setting. Steinert leads with 310 assists, 21 aces and 100 digs (third most). She has posted four double-doubles of assists and digs so far.

Cooking Up Rhoads to Kills:

Freshmen Caelen Cook and Haylee Rhoads have also made noise in recent matches. Cook has 83 kills (second most), 30 digs and six blocks, while Rhoads has 68 kills (fourth most), 22 blocks (six solo, second most) and 27 digs.

Wild Card Step Up:

Sophomore Lison Stoffel and freshmen Rachel Carroll and Bailey Perry have the most recent wild cards on the team.

Stoffel, who rotates between setter and libero, currently has 74 digs, 46 assists and 15 aces. She had a career-high 18 digs against Pensacola.

Carroll, who earned a couple of starts for conference, currently has 43 digs and six aces. She had a season-high 11 digs against Pensacola.

Perry currently has nine digs and three kills after coming back from injury.

Scouting St. John's River:

The Vikings are currently ranked #17 in the NJCAA DII Polls and are in second place in the Sun Lakes North Division. They are coming off of winning their first two matches of conference after sweeping South Florid State 3-0 and defeating Palm Beach State 3-1.

Sophomore middle blocker Cassidy Casey leads the offense and part of the defense. Casey leads with 81 kills and 12 blocks (three solo).

On the service line, three player have 20+ services aces: sophomore Tara English (25) and freshmen Alina Schneider (23) and Katelynn Wright (22). Schneider also leads with 146 digs.

Scouting Morton College:

Morton College hail from Cicero, Illinois (a suburb in Chicago) and represent NJCAA Region 4 (Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference). They are lead by first year head coach Steve Dowjotas.

The Panthers are coming off of a 3-2 win over McHenry County College and a 3-0 sweep over Waubonsee CC at home. This will be the first time both teams meet.

Trenyce Bonner leads the offense with 138 kills, 17 aces and 12 blocks, while Gaby Miranda follows with 69 kills.

On defense, Kylah Cales leads with 24 blocks and 22 kills, while Chassity Llanos-Padilla and Jorieliss Caraballo Morales both have 80+ digs (Llanos-Padilla, 81; Caraballo Morales: 85).

Scouting Lake Sumter:

The Lakehawks are currently ranked #17 in the nation and are coming off of splitting their first two matches of conference losing 3-0 to Palm Beach State and winning 3-2 over South Florida State. They are currently in last place in the Sun Lakes North Division.

The offense is lead by Yarielis Lopez Osorio (80 kills and 80 digs) and Kaylee Hunt (64 kills, 83 digs and 16 aces), while Alyssa Guarino (87 digs), Katie Patrick (13 blocks and 18 kills) and Nadeshly Mojica-Rivera (11 blocks, 17 kills and 53 dig) lead the defense. Guarino was recently named NJCAA DII Defensive Player of the Week.

Scouting Pasco-Hernando State:

The Bobcats are coming off of splitting their last two matches of conference play losing the first match 3-2 against #18 Gulf Coast State before winning the second match 3-1 against Pensacola State. They are currently in first place in the Sun Lakes South Division.

The offense and part of the defense is lead by Kylie Ciani. Ciani has 133 kills, 10 aces, 88 digs and 23 blocks (10 solo). Isabela Greifenstein follows behind with 84 kills and 66 digs.

Defensively, aside from Ciani, Elena Castillo-Wetzell leads with 103 digs.

How to Keep Up:

The matches, including the scrimmage, will air on the SCF Sports Network and fans can keep up with the team on all forms of social media:

Livestream link - https://portal.stretchinternet.com/scf/

Social Media -

Instagram: @volleyball_SCF

Twitter: @SCFVolleyball

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SCFvolleyball

General Admission is $5 and $3 for children/seniors

Students that show their student ID will gain free admission to all matches.

SCF VB Falls in Conference Openers

Panama/Pensacola, Fla - The SCF volleyball team (4-7, 0-2 Sun Lakes South) fought hard in their first two matches in Sun Lakes Conference play, but it was ultimately not for them as they fell to #18 Gulf Coast State College (7-0, 3-0 Sun Lakes North) 3-2 (25-21, 21-25, 23-25, 25-23, 12-15) in Panama City before being swept 3-0 (24-26, 26-28, 15-25) against Pensacola State College (6-3, 2-1 Sun Lakes North) in Pensacola.

SCF vs #18 GCSC:

The Manatees first match was hard fought as they fought hard against the Commordores to claim the first set and tie the match after winning the fourth set, but miscommunication was costly as the Commodores managed to hold the fifth set for the win.

Two players lead the offense while two freshmen had a double-double in the match. It was freshman Bella Rebimbas that the Manatees offense in the first match as she finished with her first collegiate double-double of a season-high 16 kills and 16 digs to go along with an assist and four blocks. Sophomore Lana Sandanom would follow with 14 kills, one aces, six digs and two blocks, while freshman Haylee Rhoads rounded out the offense with nine kills, seven digs, one ace and four blocks.

Freshman Kendall Steinert posted her fourth double-double of the season with 45 assists and 16 digs to go along with five kills, one ace and one block. It was her second match with 40+ assists.

Defensively, aside from four blocks apiece from Rebimbas and Rhoads, sophomores Shelby McGee and Lison Stoffel and freshman Shelby Pillow lead the defense. McGee would lead with 22 digs, four assists and one kill, while Stoffel added a career-high 15 digs, three assists and three aces and Pillow added four blocks to go along with six kills.

Freshmen Caelen Cook (seven kills, one assist and five digs), Rachel Carroll (six digs, two assists and one ace) and Bailey Perry (six digs) also contributed in the match.

SCF vs Pensacola State:

The first two set were complete dog fights as both teams would go to the limit, but the Pirates would take both sets before completing the sweep.

Sandanom would lead the offense against the Pirates as she finished with 10 kills, one dig and one block, while Pillow would follow with nine kills, two digs and three blocks. Rebimbas, Rhoads and Cook each finished with seven kills apiece. Rebimbas added eight digs, one ace, one assist and two blocks, while Rhoads added four digs, one assist and one block.

Steinert would lead the passing game with 37 assists, three aces, two kills and six digs.

Defensively, aside from Pillow's blocking, three Manatees had double digit digs. Stoffel, who was the libero, lead the way surpassing her career-high with 18 digs, two assist and one ace. Carroll followed with a season-high 11 digs, while McGee rounded out with 10 digs and one assist.

Sun Lakes Standings:

North -

1. #18 Gulf Coast State (7-0, 3-0)

2. #17 St. John's River State (7-3, 2-0)

3. Pensacola State (6-3, 2-1)

4. FSCJ (1-1, 1-1)

5. Lake Sumter State (4-4, 1-1)

South - 

1. Pasco-Hernando (4-7, 1-1)

2. South Florida State (2-3, 1-2)

3. Palm Beach State (1-3, 1-2)

4. SCF (4-7, 0-2)

5. St. Pete (1-4, 0-2)

Up Next:

The Manatees will have five straight home matches at Hal Chasey Gymnasium as they will first welcome the Webber International University JV team Tuesday night, September 6 at 6 pm.

SCF VB Set for New Conference Opener

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF volleyball team (4-5) will now test the waters of the Sun Lakes Conference for their new conference. The Manatees will take their first two conference matchups on the road for the weekend as they will travel to Panama to take on #18 Gulf Coast State College (5-0, 1-0 Sun-Lakes South) at the Billy Harrison Fieldhouse Friday night, September 2 at 6 pm before traveling to Pensacola to take on Pensacola State College (5-2) Saturday afternoon, September 3 at 1 pm (12 pm central) at the Hartsell Arena.

Last Time Out:

The Manatees are coming off of finishing their home opener against #12 Hillsborough this past Tuesday night at Hal Chasey Gymnasium on 'Faculty Appreciation Night' where they fell 3-1.

Sophomore Lana Sandanom leads the way offensively with 83 kills, while freshmen Caelen Cook and Haylee Rhoads follow along with 69 and 52 kills respectively. Cook also has six blocks and 25 digs in her name, while Rhoads has 17 blocks (five solo) and 16 digs. Sandanom lead the match against HCC with 11 kills, while Cook followed with eight and Rhoads with four.

Freshman Kendall Steinert continues leading the way on the passing game with 228 assists to go along with 21 kills, 78 digs and 17 aces. 

Defensively, sophomore Shelby McGee and freshmen Bella Rebimbas and Shelby Pillow lead the way. McGee currently has 150 digs to go along with 23 assists and nine aces, while Rebimbas, the more hybrid player, is second in digs (108) and fifth in kills (49). Pillow, who returned from injury, leads with 19 blocks (11 solo) to go along with 52 kills (tied for third most).

Sophomores Lison Stoffel and Kat McCall and freshmen Rachel Carroll and Kloe Pinto are the main wildcard players. Stoffel currently has 41 assists, 41 digs and 11 aces (second most), while McCall has 10 aces (third most) and 20 digs. Carroll has 26 digs and five aces, while Pinto has 11 digs and three kills in her name.

Scouting Gulf Coast State:

The Commodores are coming off of a tough battle against St. Pete College in their conference opener as they defeated the Titans 3-2. Currently, the Commodores are ranked #18 in the NJCAA DII National Polls.

Sophomore Evyn Peddie leads the offense with 35 kills, while freshman Elaina Reynolds follows with 30 kills and 23 digs.

Defensively, sophomore Aliyah Baker leads with 13 blocks (12 solo) to go along with 18 kills and 10 aces, while classmate Carsyn Tillman leads with 37 digs and nine aces.

Scouting Pensacola State:

The Pirates are coming off of sweeping Coastal Alabama - East 3-0 at home. They will play St. Pete in their conference opener prior to play SCF.

Freshman Anyaliz Rodriguez leads the offense with 63 kills and 71 digs. Sophomore Brooke Sproat follows with 41 kills.

Defensively, sophomore Jada Lowery leads with 15 blocks to go along with 15 kills, while classmate Julia Neveu leads with 76 digs and eight aces.

How to Keep Up:

The match vs Gulf Coast State will likely air on either the Commodores Sports Network or their YouTube page. The match with Pensacola will air on the Pirates Network

Livestream Links:

SCF vs GCSC possibilities -  

1. https://gulfcoaststatecollege.viebit.com/player_live.php?hash=613ded24-8de4-447b-b079-914508d66f2e

2. https://team1sports.com/gcathletics/

 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjtzVx9OpubfWCp8O1m-c5g

3. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjtzVx9OpubfWCp8O1m-c5g

SCF vs Pensacola - https://piratenetwork.live/watch-live/