Bradenton, Fla - Despite a heartbreaking loss at the NJCAA Region 8 State Tournament, the SCF beach volleyball team (8-6) will make their dream a reality for a national championship as they will travel 10 hours north to compete in the three-day 12-team NJCAA Beach Volleyball Championship at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Alabama May 2-4. The Manatees will open their part of the tournament against Bryant and Stratton (0-4) and Richard Bland (20-11).
Last Time Out:
The Manatees are coming off of finishing third in the FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 State Tournament at the UMR Sports Complex in Lakewood Ranch. They would defeat Lake Sumter State 3-2 in their opening match before falling 3-2 to eventual winners and defending champions Palm Beach State. They would try to go for the second automatic qualifying spot against Lake Sumter State, but they would fall 3-1.
Despite finishing third in the tournament, the Manatees were able to secure a spot in the national tournament as an at-large bid.
NJCAA Beach Volleyball Tournament Breakdown:
The NJCAA Beach Volleyball Tournament will be a nine-team tournament that is put into three pools of play. All three pools will play a series of round robin matches to determine the seed order of the tournament. Following round robin play
Palm Beach State (17-8) is the defending champions after winning the inaugural tournament last year.
Qualifying Teams:
Aside from their fellow conference members in Palm Beach State and Lake Sumter State (9-14), the following is the list of teams that will join the Manatees in the national tournament and the pool order:
Richard Bland (20-11) - Region 10*
Gaston College (9-19) - Region 10*
Sandhills (11-15) - Region 10*
Mesa (11-11) - Region 1*
Bryant and Stratton (WI) (0-4) - Region 4*
Trinidad State (1-10) - Region 9*
*Automatic Qualifier
Pool 1 -
Palm Beach State
Mesa
Gaston
Pool 2 -
Lake Sumter
Sandhills CC
Trinidade State
Pool 3 -
Richard Bland
SCF
Bryant and Stratton
Pairs Domination:
Leading the way our of the pairs is sophomore Kayla Gentry and freshman Rhea Kohl. Gentry and Kohl, who play as the #1 pair, are currently 11-2 overall as a pair.
The freshman duo of Aleksandra Wrobel and Addison Beaver follow as they are 11-0 at the #3 spot. In fact, they are the only pair for the Manatees that are undefeated.
Scouting Richard Bland:
Richard Bland College hails from Petersburg, Virginia and represents NJCAA Region 10. They are lead by head coach Stephanie Champine, who enters her second season as head coach.
The Statesmen are coming off of finishing first in the conference play as the regular season champions before winning the NJCAA Region 10 State Tournament after defeating Spartanburg Methodist (4-0) in semifinals and eventual runner-up Sandhill Community College (3-0).
Leading the way is the sophomore duo of Sarah Heath and Jordan Schlageter. The pair, who play as the #1 pair, are 5-5 overall and were named the NJCAA Region 10 Pair of the Year.
Last season, the Manatees split with the Statesmen winning the first match 3-2 before losing the second match 3-1.
Scouting Bryant and Stratton:
Bryant and Stratton hail from Wauwatosa, Wisconsin and represent NJCAA Region 4. They are lead by head coach Heather Curley, who enters her fifth season as head coach.
The Lady Bobcats played four matches where they lost of their matches. Despite that, they qualified for the national tournament automatically as they were the only college in Wisconsin with a beach volleyball program.
Times of Matches:
5/2:
Palm Beach State vs Gaston CC @ 10 am (9 am Central)
Lake Sumter State vs Trinidad State @10 am (9 am Central)
Richard Bland vs Bryant and Stratton @10:15 am (9:15 am Central)
Sandhills vs Trinidad State @ 11:30 am (10:30 am Central)
Mesa vs Gaston CC @ 11:30 am (10:30 am Central)
SCF vs Bryant and Stratton @ 3 pm (2 pm Central)
Lake Sumter State vs Sandhills CC @4:15 pm (3:15 pm Central)
Palm Beach State vs Mesa CC @ 4:15 pm (3:15 pm Central)
SCF vs Richard Bland @ 4:30 pm (3:30 pm Central)
How to Keep Up:
All matches will air on the NJCAA Network. Fans can also keep up with the Manatees on all social media platforms:
Livestream Link - https://www.njcaa.org/network/landing/index
Social Media Links -
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