St. Petersburg, Fla - The SCF volleyball team (11-11, 5-6 Sun Lakes South) pulled of another big moment as they shutout St. Pete College (6-10, 3-8 Sun Lakes South) 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-22) at the Gibbs Campus Gymnasium. With the win, the Manatees are now 11-11 against the Titans. Additionally, the Manatees have clinched a spot in the FCSAA State Tournament for the first time since 2014.
"When we got on and off the bus, the team seemed low and disconnected, but focused and unmotivated," said head coach Lynn Burnett. "When we started the warmups, their wasn't a lot of pizazz and hunger, so I took the team out front and said 'let's find a common goal we can agree on and what ingredients we need to make that common goal come together as one team' and Emily Lyons said 'lets' win in three sets' and everyone jumped on board with it because it has been a lot of matches with a lot of sets while we're coming into the final stretch where we need to save our bodies as much as possible so we can get the job done."
"We talked about things like more communication, activity, intensity and the intention on the goal we can accomplish and when they stepped on the court we won serve-receive and SPC sided out immediately, while Kendall (Steinert) stepped back to the line to serve nine straight balls in a row that were aggressive. St. Pete couldn't keep up with our defense and we overwhelmed them while taking advantage of their mistakes while we played like a well-oiled machine and we kind of went through a couple of rotations where we got into a slump and St. Pete came back, but the shining moment was facing the fact that they had this huge lead and then allowed them to come back and it was a wakeup call for us and they did what we told them to do and they bonded together as one."
"Overall, the team dramatically did better than the last time we played St. Pete and that means we're showing some improvements," said freshman Haley Rhoads. "It feels like a relief that we swept them in three sets because with four games this week, our bodies can't take anymore than that. The win also put us in a great position for districts. I don't know how will fair against Mesabi Range, but we can expect a team of Manatees hungry for a win."
"I thought we played very consistent from our serving to our offense," said freshman Kendall Steinert. "It felt good sweeping St. Pete because now we know that we can beat any team that we've played in five sets."
The Manatees got off to a hot start in the first set with a 9-0 run after kills from freshmen Bailey Perry, Isabella Rebimbas and Shelby Pillow and blocks from Pillow and Rhoads, forcing the Titans to call a timeout to secure their first point of the set. The Titans started to push the Manatees and cut the deficit to 12-11 before Burnette called timeout, but determination remained with the Manatees as they fought back before freshman Kendall Steinert would seal the first set with a kill.
The second set was a wild one as the Manatees struggled briefly before they made adjustments while taking advantage of a few attack errors from the Titans and a yellow card issued to SPC head coach Scott White. With blocking from Rhoads, Pillow and Perry, the Manatees took the second set.
The third set got a little messy for both teams with the Titans dealing with service errors and the Manatees dealing with ball-handling errors, but with careful adjustments, the Manatees were able to seal the deal with a kill for the sweep.
Pillow would lead the offense with 10 kills, four digs and three blocks (one solo). Rhoads would follow with eight kills, one aces, five digs and four blocks (two solo).
"I thought I did well on the court," said Rhoads on her game. "I just need to focus on communicating more."
Perry would round out the order with six kills, one assist, one ace, one block and 14 digs.
On setting, Steinert earned her 14th double-double of the season as she finished with 25 assists, 10 digs, five kills and three blocks (one solo).
"I thought I served well and made some good offensive decisions," said Steinert on her game.
On back row defense, aside from Perry and Steinert, Rebimbas had 10 digs and five kills, while sophomore Shelby McGee had 11 digs and four assists.
Sophomore Lison Stoffel (two aces, two assists and nine digs) and freshmen Caelen Cook (three kills and seven digs) and Rachel Carroll (two aces and six digs) also contributed in the match.
Notes:
Steinert's 25 assists put her at 721 and needs 104 to surpass Ewine Guscetti (824, 2018) for sixth all-time. Stoffel's two assists put her at 513 and needs 84 to surpass Sanja Vojnovic (596, 2015) for 10th all-time.
Other Sun Lakes Scores:
Florida State College at Jacksonville (9-2, 8-2 Sun Lakes North) defeated St. John's River State (15-12, 8-4 Sun Lakes North) 3-2. The Blue Wave will face Pensacola State Friday night, October 21 at 5 pm, while the Vikings return home to host the two-day Viking Invitational Saturday and Sunday, October 22-23 and welcome Spartanburg Methodist (16-10 5-0 CJCC), Andrew College (4-11) and Lurleen B. Wallace CC (18-12, 15-9 ACCC).
Pensacola State (20-7, 8-4 Sun Lakes North) upset #15 Gulf Coast State (20-3, 8-3 Sun Lakes North) 3-2. The Commodores will take on Florida State College at Jacksonville Saturday morning, October 22 at 11 am.
Sun Lakes Standings:
North -
1. #15 Gulf Coast State (20-3, 8-3)
2. Florida State College at Jacksonville (9-2, 8-2)
3. Pensacola State (20-7, 8-4)
4. St. John's River (15-12, 8-4)
5. Lake Sumter State (9-12, 3-9)
South -
1. Palm Beach State (9-6, 7-4)
2. SCF (11-11, 5-6)
3. South Florida State (5-10, 3-7)
4. St. Pete (6-10, 3-8)
5. Pasco-Hernando State (8-15, 3-9)
Up Next:
The Manatees return home to Hal Chasey for the next three matches as they welcome Minnesota North College - Mesabi Range (17-7, 13-3 MCAC) (October 20 @ 6 pm), South Florida State (October 22 @ 3 pm) and Palm Beach State (9-6, 7-4 Sun Lakes South (October 26 @ 6 pm).
No comments:
Post a Comment