Bradenton, Fla. - With the 2023 season faded away in the distance, the SCF volleyball team will look to open the 2024 season at home at Hal Chasey Gymnasium as the Manatees welcome Indian River State (4-2) Friday night, September 6 at 5 pm, Palm Beach State (5-1) Saturday afternoon, September 7 at 1 pm and South Florida State Tuesday night, September 10 at 6 pm. It will be the first time since the 2021 fall season that the Manatees open their season at home.
Last Time Out:
The Manatees are coming off off one of their best seasons since 2014 as they went 14-9 overall with a 6-7 record in the Sun Lakes Conference (5-3 in the south division). They would finish second in their division behind Pasco-Hernando State and qualify for the FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 State Tournament where they would shutout Lake Sumter State in the quarterfinals before falling to runner-up Gulf Coast State in the semifinals.
Following the end of their season, then head coach Lynn Burnett would take on a new role as the head coach for court volleyball and beach volleyball at New College of Florida (NAIA) in Sarasota.
Conference/Rule Changes:
The Sun Lakes Conference will go amongst another change this year as Indian River State will move their volleyball program to division two after dropping their women's basketball program this upcoming year. Additionally, because the number of teams expanded, the Sun Lakes will now be one full conference instead of being separated into two divisions. Additionally, all teams will be allowed to have up to two liberos per team.
The conference for division one and division two will be as listed:
Citrus Conference -
Florida Southwestern State
Miami Dade
Polk State
Daytona State
Santa Fe
Eastern Florida State
Hillsborough
Sun Lakes -
SCF
St. Pete
South Florida State
Palm Beach State
Gulf Coast State
Pensacola State
Florida State College at Jacksonville
Pasco-Hernando State
Indian River State
St. John's River State
Lake Sumter State
New Leader of the Pack:
After the departure of Burnett, a nationwide search took place to find a new head coach for the Manatees and in a successful move, the new head coach was decided: Courtney Bobo-McKenzie.
Bobo-McKenzie, a native of Tampa, joins the Manatees after four seasons being the head coach for Sumner High School in Tampa.
McKenzie is joined by assistant coach Eunyce Vercosa. Vercosa, a native of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, Vercosa, joined the Manatees in September 2023 as an assistant coach for the beach volleyball program before she was promoted to be the head coach where she helped the Manatees to a third-place finish in the NJCAA National Beach Volleyball Championship in May. She is also the current head coach for Premium Beach Volleyball Academy in St. Petersburg, Be Volleyball Academy, INC and Manatee High School.
Additionally, Vercosa is a current beach volleyball player professionally in the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) where she has participated in numerous beach tournaments in Brazil and the US as well as several FIVB tournaments in Russia, Korea, Mexico and China with her highest finish being ninth on two occasions.
Bring in The Newcomers:
The Manatees will be without 12 players as they have graduated and/or continued playing volleyball collegiately: Bailee Perry, Kloe Pinto, Amee Beedle, Alannah McCaughey, Rachel Carroll, Elise Bakken, Isabella Rebimbas, Teresa Briefeneder, Shelby Pillow, Caelan Cook, Katie Keefe and Emily Lyons.
Despite that, Bobo-McKenzie was able to bring in nine newcomers to join the Manatees for the 2024 season.
Johaliz Colon:
A defensive specialist/setter from Davenport, Florida, Colon joins the Manatees after graduating from Davenport High School where she was a two-sport athlete playing both volleyball and flag football.
As a member of the flag football team, Colon helped the Broncos to a 5-5 record during her junior year. On the volleyball team, she helped the Broncos in the same year to the semifinals of the FHSAA 5A District Tournament while finishing her lone season with 14 kills, 55 aces, 239 digs and 17 assists before continuing to play at the club level for the Orlando Tampa Volleyball Academy.
Prior to Davenport High School, Colon played for Ridge Community High School during her freshman and sophomore years where she had six kills, 45 aces, 350 digs and 37 assists. There she helped the Bolts to appearances in the FHSAA 7A District Tournament.
Sabrina Calhoun:
An outside hitter from Zephyrhills, Florida, Calhoun joins the Manatees after graduating from Zephyrhills High School. As a player for the Bulldogs, Calhoun helped them to three straight appearances in the FHSAA 5A District Tournament.
Adasyn Konopka:
A setter from Riverview, Florida, Konopka joins the Manatees from All-In Volleyball Academy in Brandon, Florida.
Prior to All-In Volleyball Academy, Konopka played at East Bay High School in Gibsonton, Florida where in her lone season (junior year) with the Indians finished with 375 assists, 156 digs, 36 kills, 45 aces and six blocks while leading them to an appearance in the FHSAA 6A District Tournament.
Immani Brown:
A middle blocker from Orlando, Florida, Brown joins the Manatees from Lake Nona Volleyball Academy in Orlando where she helped them to win several tournaments, including a third place finish at club nationals.
During her time with Lake Nona, Brown also graduated from Econ River High School in Orlando, Florida.
Sarah Stouky:
A defensive specialist from Port St. Lucie, Florida, Stouky joins the Manatees after graduating Jensen Beach High School in Jensen Beach, Florida. As a member of the Falcons, Stouky helped them to a 25-6 overall record with a 2-0 record in 5A District 13, which would follow with a trip to the semifinals in the FHSAA 5A Girls Volleyball State Tournament.
Prior to Jensen Beach, Stouky played her first three years at Centennial High School in Port St. Lucie where she was a two-sport athlete playing both indoor volleyball and flag football for the Eagles before transferring.
On the flag football team during her freshman year, Stouky played in four games while helping the Eagles to an appearance in the FHSAA 2A Flag Football State Tournament. On the volleyball team, Stouky played four years on varsity where she helped the Eagles to four straight appearances in the FHSAA 7A District Tournament.
Throughout her high school career, Stouky compiled a combined 901 digs, 125 aces, 254 assists, 1,293 receptions and 25 kills in her high school career.
Aryanna Spainhower:
A local product and outside hitter/setter from Bradenton, Spainhower joins the Manatees after graduating from Braden River High School where she was a three-sport athlete playing court volleyball, beach volleyball and flag football for the Pirates.
On the flag football team, Spainhower played her senior year where she was a wide receiver, linebacker and defensive end. Offensively, she had 68 catches for 851 yards (50.1 yards per game) and 15 touchdowns (12 receiving touchdowns), while defensively she had 44 tackles, one sack and eight interceptions. She would help the Pirates to an 18-2 record (3-0 in districts) and win the FHSAA 1A District Championship before helping them to the FHSAA 1A State Final Four. Additionally, she was named a member of the Herald-Tribune All-Area First Team.
On the beach volleyball team during her sophomore year, she helped the Pirates to an 8-4 overall record (5-3 in districts) while making an appearance in the FHSAA 1A District Tournament.
On the indoor volleyball team, Spainhower would play her junior and senior year on varsity for the Pirates where she finished with 339 kills, 49 aces, 29 blocks (16 solo) and 695 digs while being named a member of Herald-Tribune All-Area First Team. Additionally, she helped the team to two straight regional semifinal appearances in the FHSAA 5A State Volleyball Tournament.
Nora Leonard:
A outside hitter/defensive specialist from Inverness, Florida, Leonard joins the Manatees from Seven Rivers Christian School in Lecanto, Florida where she was a four-sport athlete playing court volleyball, basketball, tennis and softball.
Leonard first volleyball played at Osceola High School in Seminole, Florida for the junior varsity team where she helped the Warriors to a 5-3 overall record before transferring to Seven Rivers Christian School.
On the basketball team in her sophomore year at Seven Rivers Christian, Leonard played in 22 games for the Warriors where she averaged 0.9 points, 1.7 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 0.6 steals per game while helping them to an appearance in the FHSAA 2A State Tournament.
On the softball team in her sophomore year, Leonard played in 11 games where she batted .143 with two hits, three runs and two RBI while helping them to an appearance in the FHSAA 2A State Softball Tournament.
On the tennis team for her junior and senior year, Leonard helped them to an appearance in the FHSAA 1A Districit Tournament her senior year.
For the volleyball team at Seven Rivers Christian, Leonard played three years on varsity where she finished with 122 kills, 74 aces, 11 blocks (four solo) and 428 digs while leading the Warriors to three straight appearances in the FHSAA 2A District 9 Tournament. Her junior year was her most productive as she finished with 73 kills, 42 aces and 195 digs.
Lily Shoemaker:
A middle blocker/right side hitter from Valrico, Florida, Shoemaker joins the Manatees from Bloomingdale High School in Valrico. As a member of the Warhawks, she played her senior where she finished with 102 kills, 40 blocks (22 solo), 31 digs and two assists while leading them to the final in the FHSAA 5A District 10 Tournament.
Natalie Schwenk:
A libero/defensive specialist from Reading, Pennsylvania, Schwenk joins the Manatees as a walk-on after graduating from Exeter Township High School in Reading, Pennsylvania. As a member of the Eagles, Schwenk helped them to the semifinals of the Berks County Interscholastic Athletic Association (BCIAA) girls volleyball tournament.
Key Returners:
Bobo-McKenzie was able to also bring back three returners to help the newcomers out: Katrina Tallo, Morgan McGuire and Jaycie Sheean.
Tallo, a middle blocker/right side hitter and local product from Sarasota, finished her freshman year with 42 kills, 17 assists, eight aces, 46 digs and 29 blocks (eight solo).
McGuire, a setter from Brandon, Florida finished her first year with 491 assists, 11 kills, 28 aces and 199 digs. Additionally, she put up seven double-doubles in assists and digs.
Sheean, a middle blocker/right side hitter from Rockford, Illinois, joined the Manatees after transferring from the University of Purdue - Northwest (NCAA II) last season where she sat out and utilized a medical redshirt.
Scouting Indian River State:
Indian River State is coming off of finishing last season 7-16 overall with a 1-13 record in the Citrus Conference before they dropped down to the Sun Lakes Conference this year. They are lead by first-year head coach Erin Ergle, who was the assistant coach for Indian River State last season.
The Pioneers are coming off of opening their first six matches of the 2024 season. At the Viking Invitational in Leesburg, they would sweep Bishop State Community College (3-1), USC Lancaster (3-0), #16 Cape Fear Community College (3-0) and College of Southern Maryland (3-0) before falling in their home opener to Hillsborough (3-2) and Santa Fe (3-2). Prior to facing SCF, they will face Pasco-Hernando State Wednesday night, September 4.
Sophomore Katejion Robinson leads the way in offense and front row defense as she has 78 kills, nine aces, 59 digs and 13 blocks. Freshmen Amelia Langelier (48 kills, 12 digs and eight blocks) and Camryn Childers (47 kills, 13 aces and 60 digs) follow Robinson's offense, while classmate Maya Rhamy (18 assists and 95 digs) and rising sophomores Hannah St. Croix (29 kills, eight aces, 12 digs and 13 blocks) lead the defense.
Overall, the Manatees are 14-4 against the Indian River State. Last time both teams met was during the 2021 season where they split with the Manatees winning the first match 3-0 (forfeit) and losing the second match 3-0.
Scouting Palm Beach State:
Palm Beach State is coming off of finishing last season 6-16 overall with a 6-7 record in the Sun Lakes Conference. They would finish third behind SCF and fail to make the NJCAA Region 8/FCSAA DII State Volleyball Tournament, despite being the host of the tournament. The team is lead by head coach Drew Colvin, who enters his 18th season with the program and ninth as the head coach.
The Panthers are coming off off opening their season at the Viking Invitational in Palatka where they would sweep Monroe College (3-1), College of Southern Maryland (3-0), Bishop State Community College (3-2) and USC Lancaster (3-2) before splitting a doubleheader in Fort Pierce after defeating Santa Fe (3-2) before being swept by Hillsborough (3-0). They will play Pasco-Hernando State Wednesday night, September 4 prior to facing SCF.
Sophomore Patrycja Kabala leads the way offensively with 85 kills, 13 aces and 49 digs, while freshman Sophia Soderbeg leads the defense with 105 digs
Overall, the Manatees are 15-21 against the Panthers. In their last series, the Manatees swept Palm Beach State at home and on the road both by a score of 3-1.
Scouting South Florida State:
The Panthers are coming off of finishing last season 5-11 overall with a 3-10 record in the Sun Lakes Conference. They would finish fourth overall in the standings and would not qualify for the state tournament.
The team is lead by head coach Kim Crawford, who enters her 22nd season as head coach. Key returners for the Panthers include Kelsey Dodd (39 assists, 12 aces and 282 digs; All-Sun Lakes First Team), Ce'Mone Jose (62 kills, 17 digs and 41 blocks) and Danielle Worthy (68 kills, 27 digs and 53 blocks).
Prior to playing SCF, the Panthers will take on St. Pete College Wednesday night, Sept 4.
Overall, the Manatees are 32-12 against the Panthers. Last time, both teams split their series with the Manatees winning 3-0 at home before losing 3-0 in Avon Park.
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