Bradenton, Fla - The SCF volleyball team (13-8) will look to keep their dreams alive and running to go national bound, but in order for them to do that, they must face their current challenge this week as they will travel to Lake Worth to participate in the two-day FCSAA DII/ South Atlantic District Volleyball Championship Tournament at the Elisabeth W. Erling Gymnasium, hosted by Palm Beach State College. The Manatees, who will be listed as the #3 seed in the tournament, will face the #6 seed Lake Sumter State (15-11) Friday morning, November 3 at 10 am.
Final Sun Lakes Conference Standings:
North -
1. #15 Gulf Coast State (18-4, 11-2, 7-1) #
2. #10 Pensacola State (28-3, 12-1, 7-1) #*
3. Lake Sumter State (15-11, 7-6, 3-5) #
4. St. John's River State (24-12, 7-6, 3-5) #
5. Florida State College at Jacksonville (8-15, 3-10, 0-8) e
South -
1. Pasco Hernando State (14-9, 9-4, 7-1) #
2. SCF (13-8, 6-7, 5-3) #
3. Palm Beach State (6-16, 6-7, 4-4) e
4. South Florida State (5-11, 3-10, 3-5) e
5. St. Pete (5-15, 1-12, 1-7) e
* Conference Champions
# Clinched playoff berth
e Eliminated from playoff contention
Last Time Out:
The Manatees are coming off of splitting their last two matches of conference play where they fell 3-2 to Pasco Hernando State Wednesday, October 18 before defeating Palm Beach State Saturday, October 21 on their 'sophomore day'. The win over Palm Beach was what helped the Manatees secure a spot in the championship and bump up to second place in south division play.
Following the closing of their part of the regular season, the Manatees warmed up with two scrimmages against the IMG Academy U18 and U16 National Teams.
Tournament Breakdown:
The FCSAA DII Volleyball Championship Tournament is single elimination where six teams will compete at. The team that loses their match is eliminated from the tournament and ends their season. The winner of the final match will win the tournament and represent the Gulf District as one of 16 teams for the NJCAA National Volleyball Tournament in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Pasco Hernando State (15-8) will be listed as the #1 seed, while #12 Gulf Coast State (18-4), who are the reigning and defending state champions is listed as the #2 seed. As a result of their seedings, both teams will receive a first round bye.
The following listed are the six teams that qualified for the and their seedings:
#1 Pasco Hernando State (15-8)
#2 (#12) Gulf Coast State (18-4)
#3 SCF (13-8)
#4 (#10) Pensacola State (28-3)
#5 St. John's River State (24-12)
#6 Lake Sumter State (15-11)
November 3 -
Match 1: #3 SCF vs #6 Lake Sumter @ 10 am
Match 2: #4 (#10) Pensacola State vs #5 St. John's River State @ 1 pm
Match 3: #2 Pasco Hernando vs Match 1 winner @4 pm
Match 4: #1 (#12) Gulf Coast State vs Match 2 winner @ 7 pm
November 4 -
Match 5: Match 3 winner vs Match 4 winner, 1 pm (FCSAA Championship)
Award Winners:
Prior to the start of the tournament, the FCSAA Athletics Commissioner Rob Chaney and Steve Winterling, the Sun Lakes Conference Chairman and Pasco-Hernando State Athletic Director, presented the yearly awards to several players.
Sun Lakes Player of the Year:
The Sun Lakes Conference Player of the Year was crowned to sophomore Kiara Vega. Vega, a setter from Lake Mary, Florida finished the regular season with 1,114 assists (#11 in the nation; 10.51 assists per set: #3 in the nation), 38 aces, 285 digs and 34 blocks. Additionally, she was named a member of the All-Sun Lakes North Division First Team and the Dulcie 'Cookie' Stevens Player of the Year award as the best player overall in NJCAA Region 8.
All-Sun Lakes First Team:
For the Manatees, freshman Aleksandra Wrobel was named to the All-Sun Lakes First Team. Wrobel, a native of Poland, finished her part of the regular season with 164 kills, 16 aces, 108 digs and 20 blocks. In the final match against Palm Beach State, Wrobel had a double-double of 12 kills and 11 digs to go along with five blocks.
Members from the other teams are as listed:
Gulf Coast State - Izzy Denton and Jaiden Rogers
Pensacola State - Kiara Vega and Anyaliz Rodriguez
Palm Beach State - Patrycja Kabala and Zuzanna Michalska
South Florida State - Kelsey Dodd
St. John's River State - Gianna San Filippo
Lake Sumter State - Kaylee Hunt
Pasco Hernando State - Kylie Ciani and Elizabeth McDonald
All-Sun Lakes Second Team:
Representing the Manatees on the All-Sun Lakes Second Team are sophomores Katie Keefe and Caelan Cook.
Keefe, a native of London, England and a transfer from the Stetson University beach volleyball team has 114 kills, 14 aces, 105 digs and 23 blocks. After this season, Keefe will be transferring to Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona for beach volleyball.
Cook earns her first conference award in her collegiate career. Currently, the native of Indian Harbour Beach has 108 kills, 16 aces, 89 digs and 18 blocks. Throughout her two years with the Manatees, Cook has 300 kills, 18 aces, 181 digs and 35 blocks.
Members from the other teams are as listed:
Gulf Coast State - Annabell Chancy
Pensacola State - Maddie Mire and Cadence Goeden
Palm Beach State - Ashlyn Banton
St. Pete College - Ahnika 'AJ' Johnston
Florida State College at Jacksonville - Martina Soler Marti
St. John's River State - Lauren Herz
Lake Sumter State - Yarelis Lopez Osorio
Pasco Hernando State -Haley Ebbert and Isabella Griefenstein
All-FCSAA/NJCAA DII Region 8 Team:
Aditionally, Wrobel was named a member of the All-FCSAA DII/NJCAA Region 8 Team.
Members from the other teams are as listed:
Gulf Coast State - Kylie Ciani, Jaiden Rogers
Pensacola State - Kiara Vega and Anyaliz Rodriguez
Palm Beach State - Zuzanna Michalska
Florida State College at Jacksonville -
St. John's River State - Gianna San Filippo
South Florida State- Kelsey Dodd
Pasco-Hernando State - Kylie Ciani, Elizabeth McDonald
Lake Sumter - Kaylee Hunt, Yarelis Lopez Osorio
Scouting #12 Gulf Coast State:
The Lady Commodores, who bumped up to three spot in the NJCAA Top 20 National Polls, are coming off of a 3-0 shutout over Coastal Alabama - South in their season finale. They were originally in second place in the north division to secure a spot in the state tournament, however they were able to edge pass Pensacola State in a tiebreaker iof points (Gulf Coast State: 136; Pensacola State: 134). As a result, they would finish first in the north division and were named the #2 seed in the tournament..
On offense, freshman Jaiden Rogers leads the way with 137 kills and 35 blocks, while sophomore Erica Irby follows with 134 kills, 70 digs and 23 blocks.
In setting, freshman Isabel Mulita leads the way with 362 assists, 22 aces and 152 digs, while sophomore Breanna Tanton follows with 298 assists and 148 digs.
Defensively, sophomore Izzy Denton leads the way with 314 digs, 84 assists and 16 aces, while freshman Abigail Willis leads the front row with 82 blocks (75 block assists) and 99 kills.
Scouting Pasco Hernando State:
The Lady Bobcats are coming off of 3-2 loss to Hillsborough to conclude their season. They were named the Sun Lakes South Division Champions and secured the #1 seed in this year's state tournament.
Freshman Elizabeth McDonald is currently leading the offense and part of the front row defense as she leads with 279 kills, 42 aces, 181 digs and 31 blocks (18 solo). Sophomore Kylie Ciani follows with 249 kills, 26 aces and 218 digs.
In setting, sophomore Haley Ebbert leads with 314 assists, 28 aces and 110 digs, while freshman Alyssa Bentley follows with 290 assists, 18 aces and 108 digs and classmate Kiersten Osborne adds 252 assists, 28 aces and 148 digs.
Defensively, freshman Blake Samon leads with 38 blocks (23 solo) to go along with 27 kills, while sophomore Elena Castillo-Wetzell leads the back row defense with 139 digs and 11 aces.
Scouting #13 Pensacola State:
The Lady Pirates, who are the #4 seed in the tournament and are ranked #13 in the nation, are coming off of closing their portion of the season on the road in Alabama for the last five matches. They would sweep the first part of the trip in Andalusia where they defeated Enterprise State CC 3-1 before shutting out Lurleen B. Wallace CC 3-0. On the second leg of their Alabama trip, the Pirates would compete in the Calhoun CC Warhawk Showdown in Decatur where they would fall to host Calhoun by a score of 3-2 before shutting out Enterprise State CC and Bevill State CC both by a score of 3-0. While they did have the best record in conference play, they would finish behind Gulf Coast State in the north division through a tiebreaker in points.
Sophomore Anyaliz Rodriguez leads the way offensively for the Lady Pirates as she currently has 425 kills (ranks #13 in the nation; 3.94 kills per set ranks tied for #11 in the nation), 28 aces, 345 digs and 54 blocks. Classmate Paige Patterson adds 200 kills and 62 blocks, while freshman Cadence Goeden adds 264 kills and 56 blocks.
In setting, sophomore Kiara Vega joins Rodriguez on the All-Sun Lakes North Division First Team. Vega currently has 1,114 assists (ranked #8 in the nation; 10.51 assists per set ranks #3 in the nation), 39 kills, 38 aces, 285 digs and 84 blocks.
Defensively, freshman Maddie Mire leads the back row with 545 digs (tied for #32 in the nation) to go along with 46 aces, while classmate Riley Carter leads the front row with 78 blocks (16 solo), 171 kills and 19 aces.
Scouting St. John's River State:
The Lady Vikings, who enter the state tournament as the #5 seed in the tournament, are coming off of a 3-2 win over Indian River State to conclude their season.
Sophomore Gianna San Filippo leads the Lady Vikings' offense and front row defense as she currently has 285 kills and 120 blocks (92 solo; tied for #17 in the nation), while classmate Brittany Cowart follows with 216 kills and 70 blocks (45 solo) and freshman Becky Thiem adds 199 kills and 52 blocks (33 solo). Alongside San Filippo, Cowart and Thiem, sophomore Katelynn Wright (175 kills, 126 digs and 22 blocks) and freshman Zoey Matichak (193 kills, 24 aces and 267 digs) help move around the offense for the Lady Vikings.
In setting, sophomore Taylor Delaney and freshman Gianna Mora lead the way with 500 plus assists (Delaney: 555; Mora: 550). Delany also has 71 aces (tied for #18 in the nation) and 261 digs, while Mora adds 42 aces, 54 kills, 226 digs and 28 blocks (21 solo).
On defense, apart from San Fillipo, Cowart and Thiem in the front row, freshman Lauren Herz leads the back row defense with 638 digs (#15 in the nation), 100 assists and 42 aces.
Scouting Lake Sumter State:
The Lakehawks, who are the #6 seed in the tournament, are coming off of a 3-0 shutout win over Trinity College of Florida. They would finish in fourth place in the north division.
Sophomore Kaylee Hunt leads the offense for the Lakehawks with 295 kills, 29 aces, 308 digs and 43 blocks, while classmate Yarelis Lopez Osorio follows with 241 kills, 25 aces and 340 digs. Freshman Emily Warner leads all the players in setting with 546 assists, 36 aces and 234 digs.
Defensively, freshman Sydni Hunter leads the front row with 57 blocks and 90 kills, while sophomore Saniaa Dickey has 276 digs and 32 aces.
How to Keep Up:
All five matches will air on the FCSAA Digital Network and fans can keep up with the Manatees on all social media platforms:
