SCF BVB Finishes 7th at Nationals

Tavares, Fla - The #10 seed SCF beach volleyball team (4-18) closed out their season and portion of the NJCAA National Beach Volleyball Championship at Hickory Point Beach in Tavares. The Manatees would finish seventh out of 12 teams in the nation with a split falling to #2 seed Richard Bland College (21-8) 3-1 before defeating #12 seed Bryant and Stranton (VA) (7-16) 3-0.

"What a rush and a thrill it was for us to step onto the court and dominate," said head coach Lynn Burnett. "I'm very proud of this group of ladies and their growth on and off the court this year. It was a bittersweet ending for us and hard to leave without any medals, but it definitely leaves me hungry for next year and make sure that we do a good job of recruiting up and ready to take the teams by storm next year."

#1 seed Palm Beach State (23-4) were named the NJCAA Beach Volleyball Championship after defeating fellow conference member St. John's River State (8-9-2) 3-0. St. John's River State was named the runner-up.

Angelina Botolino (Palm Beach State, Lola Vidamour (Palm Beach State), Cassidy Casey (St. John's River) and Alina Schneider were named NJCAA All-Americans as the #1 pairs of both teams.

SCF vs Richard Bland:

The Manatees were able to get one point on the board as sophomore Amanda Goudinho Pizzol and Yeva Serdiuk would defeat sophomore Karagyn Durco and freshman Sarah Heaththe 21-17, 21-15 at the #1 pair. However, it was all they could produce as the Manatees fell at the #3, #4 and #5 pairs. As a result, the Manatees were moved down to the consolation bracket of the tournament to play for seventh place.

#4 seed Mesa CC would eventually defeat #12 Bryant and Stratton (VA) 3-0.

SCF vs Bryant and Stratton (VA):

Serdiuk and Goudinho Pizzol would take the first match over sophomores Briana Macias and Isabella Delarosa Sanchez at the #1 pair by a score of 21-9, 21-15. Sophomore Shelby McGee and freshman Kayla Gentry would follow with a 21-13, 21-17 win over freshmen Kassandra Menard and Isis Romine at the #2 pair spot before freshmen Remi Hebert and Caelan Cook defeated freshmen Raelyn Johnson and Victoria Mills 21-15, 21-13 at the #3 spot.

Final Standings:

1. Palm Beach State

2. St. John's River State

3. Lake Sumter State

4. South Mountain

5. Richard Bland

6. Mesa

7. SCF

8. Bryant and Stratton (VA)

9. Spartanburg Methodist

10. Gaston

11. Trinidad State

12. Bryant and Stratton (WI)

SCF BVB Finishes First Day of Nationals

Tavares, Fla - The #10 seed SCF beach volleyball team (3-18) wrapped up the first day of the NJCAA Beach Volleyball National Championship at Hickory Point Beach with a split. The Manatees fell in the first round to #1 seed Palm Beach State (22-4) by a score of 3-0 before defeating #11 seed Trinidad State (0-11) 3-0.

SCF vs PBSC:

The Manatees were unable to get a win on the board as the #2, #3 and #5 pairs fell. As a result, the Manatees were moved down to the consolation bracket of the tournament.

After the Manatees loss, Trinidad State fell to Gaston State (6-23) 3-1.

SCF vs Trinidad State:

Hoping to bounce back, the Manatees pulled themselves together and put together a fight in the consolation bracket. Sophomores Amanda Goudinho Pizzol and Yeva Serdiuk would defeat sophomore Ana Perez and freshman Maliah Gardner 21-11, 21-15 at the #1 pair. Freshmen Remi Hebert and Caelen Cook would follow with 21-9, 21-13 win over sophomore Avery Palmgren and freshman Eimaya Medina at the #3 pair before sophomores Danielle Conover and Kaylee Forman defeated the freshman duo of Neveah Martinez and Nataly Leon 21-10, 21-8 at the #4 pair to move on in the consolation round.

Up Next:

The Manatees will look to continue their path for day three of nationals. They will be looking to finish as high as fifth place in nationals.

SCF BVB Splits Pool Play in Nationals

Tavares, Fla - The #10 seeded SCF beach volleyball team (2-16) wrapped up pool play on day of the NJCAA National Beach Volleyball Championship with a split. The Manatees upset #2 seed Richard Bland College (17-8) 3-2 before falling 3-2 to #7 seed South Mountain CC (12-12).

SCF vs Richard Bland:

In the first matchup against Richard Bland, the sophomore duo of Yeva Serdiuk and Amanda Goudinho Pizzol defeated sophomore Karagyn Durco and freshman Sarah Heath in three sets (22-24, 21-7, 15-13) at the #1 pair. The Stateswomen would then tie the matchup up as the duo of sophomore Shelby McGee and freshman Kayla Gentry fell to sophomore Rylie Harris and freshman Leilani Goggin 11-21, 16-21 at the #2 pair. 

The Stateswomen would then took the lead as freshmen Remi Hebert and Caelen Cook fell to sophomore Sophia Kaiser and freshman Jadyn Brown at the #3 pair in an 18-21 pair decision. The Manatees did not lose hope as sophomore Danielle Conover and freshman Bailee Perry defeated the sophomore duo of Morgan Green and Sydney Phillips 21-15, 25-23 at the #4 pair and tied the matchup at 2-2.

With one final match on the line, the freshmen duo of Makenzie Sherrouse and Kloe Pinto defeated the sophomore duo of Georgia Alexander and Jordan May at the #5 pair by a score of 21-17, 21-16.

SCF vs Stone Mountain:

The second matchup would then go underway as Serdiuk and Goudinho Pizzol defeated sophomore Kristine Garcia and freshman Amaya Evans 21-15, 25-23 at the #1 pair. The Cougars would take Pairs 2, 3 and 4 by scores of 21-8, 21-13 (#2), 5-21, 21-18, 15-10 (#3) and 16-21, 21-19, 15-10 (#4) for the win. Sherrouse and Pinto would win at the #5 pair by defeating the freshmen duo of Shandi Allison and Hayden Rosales in three sets (21-13, 18-21, 15-11).

After SCF's matchups. Stone Mountain CC would defeat Richard Bland 3-2.

Other Scores:

#3 seed Spartanburg Methodist (17-14) split their part of pool play as they defeated #11 seed Trinidad State (0-10) 3-0 before falling to #6 seed St. John's River State (6-7-2) 3-0. St. John's River defeated Trinidad State 3-0.

#5 seed Lake Sumter State (10-10) swept their part of pool play as they defeated #12 seed Bryant and Stratton (WI) (0-6) and #4 Mesa CC (11-7) both by a score of 3-0. Mesa defeated Bryant and Stratton (WI) 3-0.

#1 seed Palm Beach State (19-4) swept pool play as they defeated #9 seed Bryant and Stratton (VA) (7-13) and #8 seed Gaston (5-22) 3-0. Bryant and Stratton (VA) defeated Gaston 3-1.

Bracket Matchups:

#1 PBSC vs #10 SCF @ 9 am

#7 Stone Mountain CC vs #9 Bryant and Stratton (VA) @9 am

#4 Mesa CC vs #6 St. John's River @ 10:15 am

#5 Lake Sumter State vs #3 Spartanburg Methodist @ 10:15 am

#8 Gaston vs #11 Trinidad State @ 11:30 am

#12 Bryant and Stratton (WI) vs #2 Richard Bland @ 11:30 am

Up Next:

The Manatees will now focus on day two of the championship as they will face #1 seed Palm Beach in the first round of official tournament play at 9 am.

SCF BVB Completes Day One of Pairs Championship

Tavares, Fla - The SCF beach volleyball team (1-15) put themselves to the test as six pairs played in the JUCO Pairs Championship Pool Play at Hickory Point Beach in Tavares.

In Pool 2, the duo of freshmen Remi Hebert and Caelen Cook splitting their first two matches of pool play as they defeated sophomore Kat Nelson and junior Calla Shotwell (NCAA DII Carson-Newman University) in three sets (20-22, 21-11, 15-11) before falling to sophomore Jules Aiken and freshman Sophia Baella (NCAA DII Tusculum University) 16-21, 19-21. They would finish in second behind Aiken and Baella.

For Pool 3, the duo of sophomore Kaylee Forman and freshman Bailee Perry would split their matches for a third place finish after losing the first one 12-21, 20-22 to senior Aleah Kennedy and sophomore Dazsha Dean (NCAA DII University of Mobile) before defeating the sophomore duo of Jordyn Skeens and Hailey Wells (NAIA St. Andrews University) with a 21-10 pair decision.

The sophomore duo of Yeva Serdiuk and Amanda Pizzol would sweep at Pool 4 as they defeated redshirt junior Taylor Atkinson and sophomore Katarina Diaz (NCAA DII Erskine College) 21-12, 21-14 before defeating redshirt sophomore Prisca Garner and redshirt freshman Cassidy Granger (NCAA DII Spring Hill College) 21-14, 24-22. Serdiuk and Pizzol would the only pair to finish first in pool play.

The duo of freshmen Makenzie Sherrouse and Kloe Pinto fell to fourth place in Pool 6, but the Manatees would push for two more third place finishes as sophomore Shelby McGee and freshman Kayla Gentry would split their two matches the first one to juniors Ashley Brin and Gia Marinelli (NCAA DII University of Tampa) 13-21, 17-21 before defeating sophomore Macy Boggs and Elizabeth Franklin (NAIA Truett McConnell) 21-10, 21-11 at Pool 7.

In the final matchup of pool play, the sophomore duo of Danielle Conover and Essence Bundrage would fall to junior Alex Omaszta and sophomore Sydney Marshall (NCAA DII Concordia University - Irvine) 9-21, 1-21 before defeating juniors Mikayla Davy and Logan Standridge (NAIA St. Andrews University) with a 21-9 pair decision.

The Manatees return to action in Tavares as they prepare for the inaugural NJCAA Beach Volleyball Championship. They will open pool play with two matches against Richard Bland College (17-6) and South Mountain CC (10-12) on April 20.

SCF BVB Secures First Win in Split

St. Leo, Fla - The SCF beach volleyball team (1-10, 0-6 Region 8) were able to secure their first win of the season in a split as they defeated NCAA DI Jacksonville State (0-7) 3-2 before losing to NCAA DII St. Leo University (5-0).

The Manatees would take the first match via forfeit at the #5 spot. After that, the freshman duo of Bailee Perry and Kayla Gentry would fall to senior Isabell Fuell and sophomore Brooklyn Schiffi in three sets (13-21, 21-17, 8-15) at the #2 spot before the duo of sophomore Essence Bundrage and freshman Remi Hebert fell to sophomore Kiara Amigon and freshman Parker Phenicie 9-21, 19-21 at the #4 spot. 

While the Manatees were down 2-1, they would not go away and fought in the final two spots. Sophomore Shelby McGee and freshman Caelan Cook would defeat junior Carley Lynch and freshman Kathryn Smith with a 21-11 pair decision at the #3 spot before the sophomore duo of Yeva Serdiuk and Amanda Pizzol defeated sophomore Grace Danzinger and freshman Luci Wilkinson 21-16 and 22-20 at the #1 spot.

Up Next:

The Manatees will return to the UMR Sports Complex for their final two home matches as they welcome NAIA Webber International University (9-3, 7-0 Sun) and Florida Southern (5-10) Friday afternoon, March 24 at 1 and 5 pm.

It will also be dubbed sophomore day for five sophomores: Danielle Conover, Essence Bundrage, Shelby McGee, Kaylee Forman and Yeva Serdiuk.

SCF BVB Opens Season at Home

PC by SCF Beach Volleyball Instagram

Bradenton, Fla - The SCF beach volleyball team are looking to continue to pick up where they left off from their dominant performance last season with another championship in their sight for the 2023 season. The Manatees will open the season at home as they welcome Lake Sumter State and St. John's River State to UMR Sports Complex for a doubleheader Saturday, February 4 at 10 am (vs Lake Sumter State) and 2 pm (vs St. John's River State).

This will not only be the season and home opener for the Manatees, but it will also be their conference openers too.

Admission is free for the public.

Last Time Out:

The Manatees are coming off of finishing last season 13-7 overall with a 7-1 in conference. They became the inaugural Region 8 Regular Season Champions before winning the AVCA Two-Year College Championship in Tavares and the JUCO Pairs Championship in Palatka.

The team is lead by head coach Lynn Burnett, who enters her fourth season as head coach for the beach team. 

Burnett is joined by second-year assistant coach Dr. Bree Scarborough. Scarborough, a former indoor volleyball player for American University and the University of South Florida, entered the beach volleyball scene as pairing up with current FIVB/AVP player Kim Hildreth in 2015 before pairing with SCF grad Aurora Davis for the next three years where they won a gold medal in the FIVB as well as traveling to compete in the US, Europe and Asia.

New Bloods:

With a new season comes changes for the Manatees as several players have graduated and transferred. They will be without Ana Broadhead (Vanguard NAIA), Anna Chechelyntska (Stetson), Giulia Rodrigues (UNC Asheville for indoor), Kayla David (St. Leo, NCAA DII) and Carolina Moffatt (Erskine College, NCAA DII).

Burnett was able to have some of the indoor volleyball players join the newcomers and returners.

Kayla Gentry:

A native of Port Orange, Florida, Gentry joins the team after graduating from Atlantic High School in Port Orange. After four years of playing indoor volleyball for the Sharks, Gentry played and focused on beach volleyball and played at DME Academy in Daytona where she competed in several tournaments that include the DME Pink Blast Tour (2020, 2021) while being a scholar-athlete with the team.

Amanda Pizzol:

Pizzol, a native of São Paulo, Brazil, joins the Manatee after transferring from McCook Community College in Nebraska. She will have two years of eligibility remaining with the beach team. As a member of the Indians, Pizzol played as a libero and pin hitter where she produced 172 digs, eight aces and 33 assists while leading them to a 20-18 record in NJCAA Region 9.

Prior to McCook CC, Pizzol played in several beach tournaments, which includes the 2018 Sindi Clube Championship U21 state games in São Paulo (third place finish) and the 2017 TV Tribuna Volleyball Cup.

Remi Hebert:

Hebert, a native of New Orleans, remains at SCF after spending her first two years with the softball team. She returns to one of her original sports she played in back in high school.

With the softball team, Hebert played as a pitcher and outfielder where she finished her career with the Manatees 9-6 overall with a 3.54 ERA, 47 walks and 66 strikeouts while also batting .222 with 34 hits, two home runs, 15 RBI, 22 runs and 19 walks. Additionally, she was named an honorable mention on the All-Suncoast Conference Team.

Prior to SCF, Hebert was a two-sport athlete at John Curtis Christian High School in River Ridge, Louisiana where she played both volleyball and softball. 

In softball, she played all four years of helped lead the Patriots to two straight playoff appearances in the LHSAA 5A State Tournament, which included winning the Allstate Sugar Bowl/LHSAA Softball State Tournament in 2018. As a volleyball player, Herbert played three years at the varsity level as an outsider hitter/setter where she had 438 kills, 720 digs and 130 aces in her three season with the Patriots and even lead them to two straight quarterfinals appearances in the LHSAA Division Four State Tournament.

Makenzie Sherrouse:

Sherrouse, an outside hitter from Highland City, Florida, joined the Manatees during the spring semester after transferring from Bethany College (NAIA) in Lindsborg, Kansas with up to two years of eligibility remaining. As a member of the Swedes, Sherrouse played in two matches with one kill while the team went 11-18 overall with a 5-7 record in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC).

Prior to Bethany, Sherrouse played for George Jenkins High School in Lakeland, Florida. As a member of the Eagles, she played two years of varsity and finished her career there with 72 kills, 236 digs, 18 aces and six blocks while helping the team to two straight playoff appearances in the FHSAA 6A State Tournament.

Additionally with the newcomers for beach, Burnett was able to add five of the indoor players to the team: Isabella 'Bella' Rebimbas, Amee Beedle, Caelan Cook, Bailey Perry and Kloe Pinto.

As far as the returners, Burnett brings back five returners from last season that were a part of the national champion team: Shelby McGee, Essence Bundrage, Danielle Conover, Kaylee Forman and Yeva Serdiuk.

Scouting Lake Sumter State:

The Lakehawks are lead by second-year head coach Neal Stanley and are coming off finishing last season 5-11 overall with a 1-6 record in conference. While they did finish in last place, they still managed to secure a spot in the AVCA Two-Year College Championship where they finished as the runner-up in the tournament behind SCF. Additionally, they had their number one pair named as inaugural NJCAA All-Americans with Broadhead and Serdiuk.

Sophomore Alyssa Guarino returns to the team. Guarino is one of three returners on the team who was named as NJCAA All-American after partnering with former teammate Erin Ellis. She is joined by fellow sophomores Leslie Catlett and Kaylin McCann.

Overall, the Manatees are 10-0 against the Lakehawks.

Scouting St. John's River State:

The Vikings are lead by head coach Matt Cohen and are coming off of finishing last season 6-12 overall with a 1-4 record in conference. While they finished third in standings, the Viking were able to secure a spot in the AVCA Tournament as the #2 seed where they finished in fourth place after falling to Lake Sumter in the semifinals and Spartanburg Methodist in the third place match.

Sophomores Julia Lindsey and Kirby Mason are two of the returners that will come back to the Vikings. The duo went 4-0 at the AVCA Tournament.

Overall, the Manatees are 2-0 against the Vikings.

How to Keep Up:

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

Facebook -https://www.facebook.com/SCFvolleyball/ (SCF Volleyball)

Twitter - https://twitter.com/SCFVolleyball (@SCFVolleyball)

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/scfbeachvolleyball/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D (@SCFBeachVolleyball)