SCF VB Finishes Final Match on a Good Note

The SCF volleyball team (5-19) finished their final season match on a good note as they shutout Florida Gateway (10-25) 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-16) in their second ever matchup.

It was freshman Lisa Jaunet that led the Manatees offensively as she finished with nine kills, eight digs, two block and an ace, while classmates Bailey Sikkema and Jazmin Spencer followed with seven kills each. Sikkema added three aces, an assist, two digs and a block, while Spencer added two digs and seven blocks (one solo).

Freshman Gracee Carpino led the Manatees with 50 assists to go along with three kills, two aces, six digs and a block.

Defensively, aside from Spencer's seven blocks, sophomore Barbora Tichackova led the team with eight blocks to go along with four kills, while classmate Daviya Bernard added four blocks (two solo) of her own to go with her lone kill and lone assist.

Sophomore Sydney Jaco wrapped up her final match as she finished with 11 digs, an ace and six assists.

Sophomore Hannah Strickland (two digs) and freshmen Brooke Henry (one dig) and Leilani Wilcox-Nanai (an ace and two digs) also contributed for the Manatees.

Freshman Courtney Williamson led the Timberwolves offensively with a team-leading six kills and a block, while classmate Kaeley Kellar followed with five kills and five digs. Freshman Karen Hill finished with 13 assists and two digs.

Defensively for the Timberwolves, freshman Kaci Law led the way with 11 digs.

Suncoast Conference Record Change:
It was just found out that the Manatees were now 2-4 in the Suncoast Conference and finished in third place in conference play.

Q: How did the Manatees end up in third when they were 0-6 in conference play?

A: SPC, who were originally the runner-up behind Suncoast Regular Season Champions Hillsborough and were scheduled to play in the FCSAA State Tournament, had an ineligible player that played during the season, which is a symbol of cheating. As a result of the situation, all of the Titans wins, including the ones Suncoast play, were changed to loss and they would officially finish 0-16 overall with an 0-6 record in the Suncoast.

Furthermore, Florida Southwestern State (FSW) took their place as Suncoast runner-up and competed in the FCSAA State Tournament.

This concluded the season for Jaco, Tichackova, Bernard, Strickland and classmate Lakeesha Esseboom as they close off their sophomore campaign and put together their highlights for their next journeys. Jaco now ends her volleyball career at SCF with 1,230 career digs.

Sophomore Emily Sauceda is still deciding whether or not to play this season for SCF or continue at the next collegiate level since she technically still has one year of eligibility remaining. 

Thank you SCF volleyball for letting me write about y'all this season and I look forward to writing more about you next season.

Jaco's Legacy

For my second feature story on an SCF athlete, I chose one with a legacy in volleyball: Sydney Jaco. We decided to meet up in a quiet place at the SCF Cafeteria and before we even started, I was nervous to do a story when she was the one that was nervous, but I did tell her that her older sister would probably be a little jealous, which we had a good laugh.

Jaco, a sophomore biology major and local product from Braden River High School named team captain, plays libero for the Manatees and has made marks in her own backyard with a strong bloodline in her family background.

How you might ask? Well to start it off, her father, David, was a professional heavyweight boxer who faced many bigs names like Mike Tyson and George Foreman while following the footsteps of her older sister, Brittany, an SCF alum that played two seasons for the Manatees (2013-14) while finishing with 832 career digs.

"My sister started middle school volleyball, and around the time we had a volleyball net in our backyard and that's how the Jaco family got into the volleyball life," said Jaco.

After completing her time at Braden River, while also playing for the club volleyball teams MAV, Coastline, & Wave, Jaco enrolled at SCF and despite not getting any offers to play collegiately, she got a strong connection to play on the volleyball team as a walk-on.

"By the time I was a sophomore or junior (at Braden River) I was in contact for a while with the assistant coach last year, Billie Timmons," said Jaco on enrolling at SCF. "So I thought 'I enroll at SCF, just like my sister did, play some volleyball there' in which I did try out and if I didn't make it, I'd still enroll as a student and that's what persuaded me to go."

"I didn't realize stats until the Pensacola Tournament last year and realized I was in second or third place at the time when it was early in the season and didn't know about 'digs' until I looked at my sister stats when she played."

Brittany finished her sophomore campaign with 555 digs before transferring to Barry University (NCAA DII). At the Pensacola Tournament last season, Jaco had a combined 126 digs in four matches.

"When I looked at her stats, I was like 'oh she only has 550 digs; I can do that' and from that day on, when I was in a match, it kind of pushed me to do better when I said 'you need digs these matches' because there's always that sister competition where I would be so close and say 'I can do it and beat her record'."

Low and behold last season, Jaco did in her freshman campaign as she finished with 784 digs (7.06 digs per set). In fact, the 784 digs were the second-highest not just in the Suncoast and in NJCAA Region 8, but in the nation as she finished behind Vincennes' Allison Ruddick (848 digs) while her digs per set was the highest in the nation.

"It was something I worked hard for," said Jaco on her freshman stats. "I never gave up, especially during games where I didn't play my best and what I could have done better in and you never really let that hold you back and just keep pushing to do her best.

Jaco also has her share of memorable moments from several matches such as a win over Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) in the Miami Dade Tournament last season to doing things outside of volleyball like watching scary movies.

"Last year we did a lot of movie nights where we'd go to someone's apartment and watch something like Scooby-Doo and enjoy the time we had with each other while getting along so well," said Jaco on doing stuff outside of volleyball.

In her first year at SCF, Jaco said she was feeling nervous while playing on a whole new team with many different faces from all over the world, but continued to push herself as she kept playing.

It was very scary at first," said Jaco on the new team adjustment. "I grew up a lot with club seasons where you get put on a team with people you don't know at all, which I have my experiences with. But this time, it was very different because it wasn't from people in my area, especially with internationals."

Jaco did have one close ally her freshman year in Emily Sauceda, who came from Sarasota High School.

"I don't think I've ever known or gotten close to someone that's from a different country and the bonds you form with them are very scary," said Jaco on teaming with Sauceda. "I was thankful enough to kind of know Emily (Sauceda) because she's from Sarasota and I played a couple of times with her, and that helped me out in the beginning when you find people you know and bond together like a family which becomes completely normal"

Throughout her two years at SCF, Jaco is a five-time FCSAA Defensive Player of the Week, one time NJCAA Defensive Player of the Week was named to the FCSAA and Suncoast All-Academic teams and the FCSAA 25 Dig Club 17 times, which includes five this season.

When I mentioned her 1,000th career dig in the match against Webber International JV (NAIA), Jaco said that didn't realize it at the moment because they were not hitting to her often and then said to "I wonder how you found out about that?" We had a good laugh about that.

Jaco's plans are to still try and play volleyball collegiately and possibly even further, but her back up plan is to go to medical school and play volleyball on the side while potentially planning to travel as part of one of big things she wants to do.

Jaco has brought a big part of a legacy from her family to SCF after taking over for Brittany, and I'm very glad to have seen her play and do a story on a phenomenal player like herself. Wherever Jaco's journey takes her, whether it's in the medical field or on the volleyball court (indoor or beach), her journey with SCF may be coming to a close but it is far from over where the wind will take her.

SCF VB Closes Season @ Florida Gateway

The SCF volleyball team (2-21) will look to close the regular season on a good note as they travel to Lake City to take on Florida Gateway College (10-24) at the Howard Conference Center for their last match of the season.

Last Time Out:
The Manatees are coming off of a 3-0 loss to Daytona State College on the road in their fourth ever matchup.

Offensively, freshman Leilani Wilcox-Nanai leads the team with 143 kills while adding 14 aces and 193 digs. Classmate Gracee Carpino leads the team with 510 assists, 121 digs and 22 aces.

Sophomore Lakeesha Esseboom's season came to a close early due to a concussion and finished her sophomore campaign with 133 kills and 28 blocks (eight solo).

Defensively, sophomores Sydney Jaco and Barbora Tichackova hold down the anchors. Jaco leads the team with 423 digs (5.42 per set) and 33 assists, while Tichackova leads with 64 blocks (19 solo) and 23 aces to go with her 71 kills. Freshman Brooke Henry also plays a key role defensively as she has 141 digs in her name.

Sophomore Daviya Bernard and freshman Lisa Jaunet continue with their hybrid style of play. Bernard has 91 kills and 32 blocks (nine solo) in her name, while Jaunet has 97 kills and 29 blocks (eight solo) in her name.

Freshmen Jazmin Spencer and Bailey Sikkema are two main wildcards for the Manatees. Spencer has 59 kills and 14 blocks (seven solo) in her name, while Sikkema has 42 kills and 16 blocks (three solo).

Scouting Florida Gateway:
Florida Gateway represented the Sun-Lakes Conference (NJCAA DII) where they finished dead last in their conference going 0-10. In their last match, the Timberwolves are coming off of a 3-0 win over Johnson University (NCCAA).

Sophomore Jaylin Roberts leads the Timberwolves offensively with 227 kills and 244 digs, while freshman Claire Roberson follows with 184 kills of her own along with 164 digs and freshman Kaeley Kellar has 173 kills and 261 digs. Freshman Karen Hill has 600 assists in her name along with a team-leading 45 aces.

Defensively, freshman Courtney Williamson leads the Timberwolves with 52 blocks (22 solo) to go with her 118 kills while classmate Kaci Law had 490 digs in her name.

This will be the second time the Manatees play the Timberwolves. The first time both teams met was on September 12, 2018 where they Manatees won 3-0 at home.

SCF Season Readies for Final Match vs Daytona

Although their season in the Suncoast is finished, the regular season is not yet over for the SCF volleyball team (2-20) as they travel to Daytona Beach to take on Daytona State (13-8) Tuesday night, October 22 at 6 pm.

Last Time Out:
The Manatees closed their final home match in a 3-1 loss to Monroe College (NJCAA Region XV). During which it was sophomore night for six sophomores.

Offensively, freshman Leilani Wilcox-Nanai and sophomore Lakeesha Esseboom lead the Manatees. Wilcox-Nanai with 143 kills, 193 digs (second on the team) and 14 aces (third on the team). Against Monroe, Wilcox-Nanai had a double-double of 12 kills and 17 digs. It was her fourth double-double of the season, while her 17 digs were a career-high.

Despite not playing against Monroe due to a concussion, Esseboom has 133 kills in her name along with 28 blocks (eight solo).

Freshman Gracee Carpino leads the way with 510 assists, 121 digs (fourth on the team) and 22 aces (second on the team). Carpino had 22 assists and eight digs against Monroe.

Defensively, freshman Brooke Henry and sophomores Barbora Tichackova and Sydney Jaco lead the way.

Henry is third on the team in digs (141) in which she had six against Monroe.

Tichackova leads the team with 64 blocks (19 solo) and 23 aces, while adding 71 kills. Tichackova had three kills, an ace and three blocks (one solo) against Monroe.

Jaco has become the heart and soul in digs as she leads the team with 423 digs. In her match against Monroe, Jaco had 25 digs, a kill and two aces. As a result of her 25 digs, Jaco was named to the FCSAA 25 Dig Club for the fifth time this season and the 21st time in her career while reaching 1,207 career digs.

Playing both offensively and defensively are freshman Lisa Jaunet and sophomore Daviya Bernard. Jaunet has 97 kills and 29 blocks (eight solo) and Bernard has 91 kills and 32 blocks (nine solo). Against Monroe, Jaunet had seven kills, 10 digs and a block whole Bernard had five kills and two solo blocks.

Freshmen Bailey Sikkema and Jazmin Spencer are the wild cards for the Manatees. Sikkema has 42 kills, 81 digs and 16 blocks, while Spencer has 59 kills and 14 blocks. Against Monroe, Sikkema had nine kills, two digs and a block while Spencer had seven kills, four digs and a block.

Scouting Daytona State:
The Manatees have faced Daytona State three times this season, once on neutral grounds (Santa Fe/Campus USA Classic), once on the road at the Daytona State Invitational with both scores in Daytona State's favor of 3-0 and at home where the Falcons won 3-1. The Falcons are coming off of facing Florida State College at Jacksonville on the road where they lost 3-2 in a nail-biting division match. Currently, the Falcons are third in the Mid-Florida Conference.

Offensively, freshman Carla Hernandez leads the team with 254 kills, 19 aces and 247 dig. Against FSCJ, Hernandez had 22 kills, six digs and three aces.

Sophomore Yasmin Kuck follows Hernandez with 252 kills, 31 aces (second on the team) and 39 blocks. Kuck did not play against FSCJ.

Sophomore Gardieliz Laureano leads the Falcons with 581 assists and 32 aces while classmate Bruna Avila has 489 assists and 32 blocks. While Laureano did not play against FSCJ, Avila had a double-double of 44 assists and 10.

Defensively, sophomore Taylor Garcia has 75 blocks (10 solo) and 182 kills in her name while classmate  Alexis Thompson has 62 blocks (nine solo) in her name to go with her 82 kills and classmate Nicole Rodriguez has 560 digs. Against FSCJ, Garcia did not play, but Thompson had six kills and six blocks while Rodriguez had 20 digs.

The Manatees are 2-14 against the Falcons which included the three losses this season. Last time the Manatees defeated Daytona State was on October 3, 2014 where the Manatees won 3-0 as part of their third longest winning streak.

How to Keep Up:
Fans can also keep up to date with both teams on Twitter:
SCF: @SCFVolleyball
DSC:  @DSCFalconSports

Strong Third Set Not Enough for SCF Volleyball on Sophomore Night

The SCF volleyball team (2-20) closed their final home match with a loss as they fell 3-1 (21-25, 26-28, 25-21, 19-25) to Monroe College (18-8).

"I thought we played a really good game for the last time playing on this court," said sophomore Daviya Bernard. "I feel like everyone including the freshman and sophomores gave everything, their heart and grit. It was a really good game despite a hard loss, but overall I'm really proud on how we played."

"It was a great match and we all enjoyed it," said sophomore Barbora Tichackova. "We went out with everything. I don't feel like we lost because we played with our hearts and that's the most important thing and we enjoyed it."

Prior to the match, the Manatees recognized six sophomores on the team: Sydney Jaco, Hannah Strickland, Emily Sauceda, Lakeesha Esseboom, Bernard and Tichackova. Esseboom was not in attendance due to a concussion. After the recognition of the sophomores, I was announced to do the national anthem for them, which everyone loved and the fact that I was the "Fan Favorite" to do so.

Offensively, it was freshman Leilani Wilcox-Nanai that the led the Manatees as she finished with a double-double of 12 kills and 17 digs. Wilcox-Nanai added an ace and a block.

Following Wilcox-Nanai was freshman Bailey Sikkema as she finished with nine kills and two digs, while classmates Lisa Jaunet and Jazmin Spencer added seven kills each. Jaunet added two aces, 10 digs and a block, while Spencer added four digs and a block.

Freshman Gracee Carpino finished with 22 assists to go along with her eight digs, while Strickland followed with 18 assists, and two digs.

Defensively, Jaco finished her last home match with 25 digs to go with her lone kill, two aces and two assists, while Tichackova added three blocks (one solo) to go with her three kills and six digs while Bernard finished with two solo blocks to go with her five kills and two digs. Freshman Brooke Henry added six digs.

"I started off kind of shaky," said Bernard. "My coaches were telling me 'press, press, press' and I was like 'ok, I got to press press' and then I started pressing, got a few blocks in a row and a few kills and I was really proud of that it really fueled me as I started getting kills and just fueled off my teammates' energy."

"I think I did pretty good," said Tichackova on her performance. "There were a few things that weren't working, but there were also some that did work. I'm pretty satisfied that we worked together."

Sophomore Julia La Longa led the Mustangs with 13 kills, two blocks and two digs while classmate Chiara Mottola followed with 10 kills and six blocks (two solo) and freshman Melanie Orsini had 26 digs and an ace. The freshmen duo of  Yarianne Gonzalez and Alondra Garcia had a combined 52 assists.

Heading into the first set, the Manatees earned the first point from Carpino and continued to hold on to the lead after an ace and a kill by Wilcox-Nanai and a kill by Spencer to make it 4-2 SCF, but soon Monroe scored six straight points before SCF called timeout.

Down 10-5, the Manatees continued to fight and were able to cut the Mustangs' lead to one before the Mustangs scored four straight points for a 16-12 lead. The Manatees then cut the lead to two before the Mustangs scored four straight again, but then scored four straight points of their own before cutting the Mustangs' lead to one again. The Manatees continued to fight before losing the first set.

The second set proved to have the Manatees' fight in them as they took a 6-3 lead before the Mustangs cut the deficit and eventually took a 10-7 lead but the Manatees managed to regain the lead with six straight points from Sikkema and Spencer along with four Monroe attack errors before a Monroe timeout with the score 17-13 SCF.

The Manatees continued to hold on to a 20-16 lead, but six straight Mustangs point gave them a 22-20 lead, but both teams traded back and forth in ties before the Mustangs took the second set.

In the third set, the Mustangs and Manatees took swats at each other for the lead with the Manatees leading by as much as five points. A kill by Spencer gave the Manatees the third set.

The fourth set got the Mustangs the mojo they needed as they pulled away with a six-point lead for the win.

This was the last home match for the Manatees and for Jaco, Strickland, Esseboom, Bernard and Tichackova. Sauceda still has one year of eligibility remaining after redshirting for the entire season due to injury.

"I feel like the whole season we were really fighting ourselves and we were up and down like a roller coaster," said Bernard on her last home match. "But I feel like going into the next year, the freshman are going to be set. They know how to work with each other, know how to talk and know what it takes to fight and win these battles. I feel like we're going to be really good next year and I'm really proud of these girls."

"The freshman prepared it for us," said Tichackova on her last home match. "They did all these cute decorations and the atmosphere was great. It was really nice for our last match."

Up Next:
The Manatees' season is not quite over yet as they will travel to Daytona Beach to take on Daytona State (13-8) Tuesday night, October 22 at 6 pm.

SCF VB Closes Final Home Match vs Monroe

The SCF volleyball team (2-19) will close out their final home match at Hal Chasey Gymnasium as they welcome Monroe College (16-8) Friday night, October 18 at 6 pm. Originally the two teams were scheduled to face each other in the Daytona State Invitational (Sept. 6-7), but Monroe withdrew from it.

Last Time Out:
The Manatees closed out Suncoast Conference play as they fell 3-0 to Florida Southwestern in Ft. Myers and end Suncoast play at 0-6.

Sophomore Soundoff:
The final home match will be dubbed as sophomore night for five sophomores: Sydney Jaco, Hannah Strickland, Lakeesha Esseboom, Daviya Bernard and Barbora Tichackova.

Classmate Emily Sauceda will be redshirting after sitting this season due to injury and will have one year of eligibility remaining with the Manatees.

Sydney Jaco:
A local product from Braden River High, following the footsteps of her older sister Brittany, Jaco currently leads the team with 394 digs.

As a freshman at SCF, Jaco had 784 digs which was not only the most on the team, the Suncoast and the state, but were second in the nation. Jaco's 7.06 digs per set was ranked #1 in the nation. As a result, she was named a member of the All-Suncoast First Team, Suncoast All-Academic Team and FCSAA All-Academic Team as well as a four time FCSAA Defensive Player of the Week, one time NJCAA Defensive Player of the Week and a member of the FCSAA 25 Dig Club 16 times.

On her resume this season, Jaco has been named on the FCSAA 25 Dig Club four times and was named FCSAA Defensive Player of the Week last week.

Meanwhile as far as her digs, Jaco has 1,178 career digs. She earned her 1,000th career dig in the win over Webber International JV (NAIA).

Hannah Strickland:
A native of Crawford, Florida, Strickland currently has 71 digs and 52 assists in her name.

Prior to SCF, Strickland played at Wakulla High School where she helped lead the War Eagles to the FHSAA 6A Regional Quarterfinals

As a defensive specialist her freshman year, Strickland had 263 digs in her name as well as 26 aces.

Lakeesha Esseboom:
Hailing from Paramaribo, Suriname, Esseboom leads the team with 133 kills and is third on the team in blocks (28).

Esseboom was named a member of the Suncoast All-Academic Team last season while totaling 179 kills and 36 blocks.

Prior to SCF, Esseboom was placed among the top-23 in the National Surinamese Junior Mathematics Olympiad.

Daviya Bernard:
Bernard, a native of Miami Gardens, Florida, played in 21 matches where she had 47 kills and 11 blocks as a freshman.

Prior to SCF, Bernard played for Everglades High School where she won numerous awards, including the NCAA MVP award while leading the Gators to the FHSAA 9A Regional Quarterfinals.

Currently, Bernard has played profoundly both offensively and defensively as she is fourth on the team with 88 kills and 30 blocks.

Barbora Tichackova:
Hailing from Liberec, Czech Republic, Tichackova played a big part as a middle blocker for the Manatees.

Prior to SCF, Tichackova was a member of Podjestedske Gynazium (2015-17) where she led the team to finish first in the region (2015) and second place in the Czech National tournament (2017)

As a freshman at SCF, Tichackova had 159 kills and 79 blocks (15 solo) while being named a member of the Suncoast All-Academic Team.

Currently, Tichackova has 68 kills in her name while leading the team with 58 blocks (17 solo) and aces (23).

Key Players:
Offensively, aside from Esseboom, freshman Leilani Wilcox-Nanai also remains as a main offensive leader. Wilcox-Nanai is second on the team with 131 kills and 174 digs.

Freshman Gracee Carpino leads the team with 486 assists and 22 aces (second on the team).

Another hybrid player in similar fashion to Bernard is freshman Lisa Jaunet. Jaunet is current third on the team in kills (90) and 28 blocks.

Freshman Brooke Henry follows Jaco and Wilcox-Nanai in digs (135), while classmate Jazmin Spencer, a wild card on the team, has 48 kills and 13 blocks.

Scouting Monroe College:
Monroe College is located in New Rochelle, New York and is a member of the Mid Hudson Conference (NJCAA Region XV). They are led by head coach Nephtali Delgado Reyes who enters his ninth season as head coach for the Mustangs.

In their last matchup, the Mustangs played Montgomery County Community College on the road in Blue Bell, PA. where they won 3-0.

Offensively, sophomore Julia La Longa leads the Mustangs with 212 kills and is second with 40 blocks (five solo). Against Montgomery County, the Italian had 10 kills and four digs.

Freshmen Alondra Ramos and Zassmine Birdwell also play big roles offensively as well as defensively. Ramos is second on the team with 137 kills and 126 digs, while Birdwell is third on the team with 120 kills and leads the team with 46 blocks (eight solo). Against Montgomery County, Ramos had five kills and three digs while Birdwell had two kills and a block.

A possible double setter rotation, the Mustangs will likely utilize Yarianne Gonzalez and Alondra Garcia as both freshmen have over 300 assists (Gonzalez: 377; Garcia: 328) and over 40 aces (Gonzalez: 47; Garcia: 42). In the match against Montgomery County, Gonzalez had 17 assists and four aces while Garcia had 12 assists and three aces.

Aside from Birdwell's blocking, freshman Melanie Orsini leads the Mustangs with 401 digs as well as 58 aces. Orsini had four aces and four digs.

This will be the second time both teams meet. The first time was on September 13, 2013 where the Mustangs won 3-2 at the Pasco-Hernando State College Tournament (formerly known as the Pasco-Hernando CC).

How to Keep Up:
The match will air livestream on the SCF Sports Network and fans can keep up with both teams on Twitter:
SCF- @SCFVolleyball
Monroe- @Monroe_Mustangs

Livestream Link: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/scf/

SCF VB Goes for One More Run for a Conference Win

The SCF volleyball team (2-18, 0-5 Suncoast) will look for one more try for their first win in Suncoast play as they travel southwest to Fort Myers to take on RV Florida Southwestern State (12-7, 2-3 Suncoast) at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena Tuesday night, October 15 at 6 pm. Prior to the match, FSW will recognize the two graduating sophomores

Last Time Out:
The Manatees are coming off last week losing 3-0 to #14 Hillsborough and #12 St. Pete College. As a result, the Manatees will not be competing in the postseason.

Offensively, the duo of sophomore Lakeesha Esseboom and freshman Leilani Wilcox-Nanai continue to lead the team. Esseboom leads the way with 133 kills while Wilcox-Nanai has 122 kills in her name. Esseboom also adds 28 blocks, while Wilcox-Nanai adds 167 digs (second on the team).

Gracee Carpino leads the way with 468 assists and tied for first with 22 aces

Defensively, aside from Wilcox-Nanai's second most in digs, sophomore Barbora Tichakova leads the team with 58 blocks (17 solo) to go with her 64 kills and 22 aces while freshman Brooke Henry has 134 digs (third on the team).

On both sides of the court, freshman Lisa Jaunet and Daviya Bernard continue their hybrid play offensively and defensively. Jaunet has 88 kills and 27 blocks (eight solo) while Bernard has 85 kills and 28 blocks.

Jaco's Legacy:
For sophomore Sydney Jaco, she currently leads the team with 387 digs for the season while claiming 1,171 digs in her career. Jaco was named FCSAA Defensive Player of the Week for the fifth time in her career as well as being named on the FCSAA 25 Dig Club for the fourth time this season and 16th time in her career.

Scouting FSW:
The Buccaneers are coming off of splitting their last two matches falling 3-1 to HCC and defeating SPC 3-1. As a result, the Buccaneers are receiving votes in the NJCAA Top 20 Poll for the first time.

Offensively, the freshman duo of Julia de Sa and Amanda Mendes lead the team with over 300 kills combined (de Sa: 193, Mendes: 169). de Sa is also second on the team in digs (143), while Mendes is third on the team in blocks (43, two solo) and second in aces (14). Sophomore Marina Alonso leads with 523 assists.

Defensively, freshman Kianie Cummings leads the team with 74 blocks (13 solo) while adding 69 kills to her regime. Freshman Viktoria Ivanova leads the way with 224 digs and 28 aces.

Both teams played each other at SCF where FSW was victorious with a 3-0 win

How to Keep Up:
The match will air on livestream on the FSW YouTube Page. Fans can keep up to date with both teams on Twitter:
SCF: @SCFVolleyball
FSW: @FSWBucs

Livestream Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRxbmQ7uIQc5aunOyGggyaQ

SCF VB Falls to Hillsborough/SPC

The SCF volleyball team (2-18, 0-5 Suncoast) put up a hard fought third set but ultimately fell to #15 Hillsborough (22-5, 5-0 Suncoast) 3-0 (14-25, 16-25, 20-25) before falling 3-0 (10-25, 14-25, 20-25) to #9 St. Pete College (10-3, 3-2 Suncoast). With the losses, the Manatees are now 5-16 against the Hawks and 7-14 against the Titans.

"I think the overall match took time," said sophomore Sydney Jaco. "We eventually found that energy and passion we needed in the third set was a lot closer score-wise, but I think it was a slow warm-up in the beginning."

SCF vs HCC:
Offensively, it was freshman Lisa Jaunet that led the Manatees with four kills while adding four digs and two blocks, while sophomore Barbora Tichackova followed with three kills and a block.

Freshman Gracee Carpino finished with 10 assists, an ace and seven digs.

Defensively, Jaco led with 11 digs and one assist.

"It was an ok game," said Jaco on her performance. "It definitely wasn't something amazing or terrible, but it was something."

Prior to the match, it was announced that Jaco was named the FCSAA Defensive Player of the Week after her performances.

"It's definitely an amazing feeling," said Jaco on the weekly award. "I try to work as hard as I can. Volleyball is my passion right now and just working on getting my digs out have been getting better and better each match and just to achieve these accomplishments really keeps pushing myself."

For the Hawks, freshman Isabel Martin led offensively with 12 kills and three digs, while classmate Nadine Burbrink followed with seven kills and an ace. Sophomore Mariana Volponi e Giordan added 20 assists, an ace and six digs.

Defensively, sophomore Caroline Molossi-Benke led the Hawks with 10 digs.

SCF vs SPC:
Freshman Leilani Wilcox-Nanai led the Manatees with 10 kills and seven digs, while sophomore Daviya Bernard followed with five kills. Carpino added 22 assists and three digs.

Defensively, Jaco and freshman Bailey Sikkema reached double digit digs with Jaco finishing with 21 digs, while Sikkema finished with 14. Sikkema added a kill and an ace.

"It's a good learning experience for what I need to work on for our match against FSW," said Carpino. "We'll be able to go in and play hard and be able to fix what we did wrong in practice and FSW better be ready because the Manatees are coming."

Freshmen Andressa Praise and Giovanna Costa finished with 10 kills each for the Titans with Praise adding four solo blocks, while Costa added two solo blocks and a dig.

Up Next:
The Manatees will travel to Fort Myers to take on Florida Southwestern (12-7, 2-3 Suncoast) at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena.

SCF VB Falls to FSW in Inaugural Matchup

The SCF volleyball team (2-14, 0-3 Suncoast) fell in their first ever matchup to FSW (9-6, 1-2 Suncoast) at home by a score of 3-0 (20-25, 17-25, 18-25).

Before the match began, I had the utmost privilege to sing the national anthem at the game. It's been five years since I did that and it was so good that I gave one of the assistant coaches goosebumps.

Offensively, the freshmen duo of Leilani Wilcox-Nanai and Lisa Jaunet lead the Manatees. Jaunet  finished with eight kills while adding two aces and two digs, while Wilcox-Nanai finished with seven kills, 11 digs, an ace and two blocks. Sophomore Barbora Tichackova finished second behind Wilcox-Nanai and Jaunet with six kills, two aces and three blocks.

Freshman Gracee Carpino finished wit a double-double of 23 assists and 10 digs.

Defensively, sophomore Sydney Jaco had 21 digs and two assists. Jaco's 21 digs put her at 1,089 in her career. Sophomore Hannah Strickland followed with 11 digs and an assist.

For the Buccaneers, freshman Julia de Sa led the team with a double-double of 14 kill and 14 digs while classmate Lexi Hurtado followed with 10 kills and five digs and sophomore Marina Alonso finished with 28 assists and six digs.

Defensively, freshman Yasso Amin led the Buccaneers with three blocks to go with her six kills while classmate Viktoria Ivanova finished with eight digs and four aces.

Up Next:
The Manatees will remain at home for the weekend as they welcome Palm Beach (Oct 4 at 6 pm) and Indian River State (Oct 5 at noon).

SCF VB Returns to Suncoast Action vs HCC/SPC

The SCF volleyball team (2-16, 0-3 Suncoast) are still looking for their first conference win of the season as they remain at home for Suncoast Conference play. The Manatees will welcome #15 Hillsborough (19-4, 3-1 Suncoast) on Tuesday night, October 6 at 6 pm before facing #9 St. Pete College (9-2, 2-1 Suncoast) Thursday night, October 8 at 6 pm.

Last Time Out:
The Manatees are coming off of competing in their final FCSAA Crossover matches of the season after falling 3-2 to an arrogant Palm Beach State before being shutout 3-0 to Indian River State.

Offensively, the duo of sophomore Lakeesha Esseboom and freshman Leilani Wilcox-Nanai remain the key player for kills. Esseboom leads the team with 131 kills to go with her 24 digs, while Wilcox-Nanai has 110 kills and 153 digs. In the last two matches, Esseboom had a combined 13 kills and four blocks while Wilcox-Nanai had 13 kills and 22 digs, which included a double-double against PBSC.

Freshman Gracie Carpino leads the team with 436 assists in her along with 21 aces. Carpino had 69 combined assists and two aces in both matches.

Defensively, sophomore Barbora Tichackova leads the team with 55 blocks (16 solo) and aces (22) while adding 58 kills in her name. Tichackova had six kills and seven block (three solo) in the match against PBSC, but did not provide any stats in the match against Indian River.

Another player on the defensive front is sophomore Sydney Jaco. Jaco leads the team with 355 digs while producing 1,139 career digs. Jaco had 50 combined digs in both matches. In fact, her 31 in the match against PBSC put her on the FCSAA 25 Dig Club for the fourth time this season and 16th time in her career.

Freshman Brooke Henry is third on the team with 120 digs. Henry had six combined digs in both matches.

Freshman Lisa Jaunet and sophomore Daviya Bernard have also made big contributions both offensively and defensively. Offensively, Jaunet is third on the team with 84 kills while Bernard is fourth on the team with 78 kills. Defensively, both have 25 blocks each (seven solo each).

Jaunet had one of her best matches this season as she had a double-double of 18 kills and 10 digs against PBSC, while adding a block and two aces.

Bernard had three kills and a block in the match against Indian River.

A wild card that has brought some notice is freshman Jazmin Spencer. Spencer has 44 kills and 12 blocks (six solo) in her name. Spencer had seven kills and three blocks (two solo) in her last two matches.

Scouting HCC:
The Hawks are ranked #5 in the FCSAA Coaches Poll and #11 in the NJCAA National Poll. In their last outing, the Hawks are coming off of defeating Palm Beach State (3-1) and Indian River State (3-2) in their crossover matches.

Offensively, freshman Isabel Martin leads the team with 353 kills and 25 aces while going second in digs (224). In her crossover matches, Martin had a combined 39 kills and 10 digs.

The Hawks will likely use a double setter formation with freshman Zoe Konjer and sophomore Mariana Volponi e Giordan. Konjer and Volponi e Giordan have produced a combined 877 assists (Konjer: 336,  Volponi e Giordan: 541). In their last outings, Konjer did not play against Broward and had five assists against Miami Dade while Volponi e Giordan had 82 combined assists in both matches.

Defensively, freshman middle blocker Nadine Burbrink and sophomore libero Caroline Molossi-Benke play key roles.

Burbrink leads the team with 80 blocks (23 solo) to go along with 134 kills (third on the team) and 14 aces (third on the team). Burbrink had 21 kills and five blocks in her last outings.

Following the pedigree and footsteps of her older sister and FGCU alum Vanessa Benke, Molossi-Benke leads the team with 349 digs and 16 aces (second on the team). In her last two matches, the product out of Toledo, Brazil had 20 digs and one ace.

Scouting SPC:
The Titans are ranked #3 in the FCSAA Coaches Poll and #9 in the NJCAA National Poll. They recently played in their crossover matches against Miami Dade and Broward College winning both matches by a score of 3-2 vs Miami Dade and a 3-0 shutout over Broward. The Titans will play Florida Southwestern Tuesday night in St. Pete at 6 pm.

The sophomore duo of Andressa Praise and Roberta Ribeiro lead the Titans offensively. Praise leads the team with 145 kills while Ribiero has 110. In their crossover matches, Praise had a combined 26 kills while Ribiero had 24 kills.

Defensively, Praise lead the team with 42 blocks (30 solo) while classmate Kateryna Dashevska has a team-leading 110 digs and 15 aces (2nd on the team). Dashevska had a combined 26 digs and one ace in the crossover matches.

Series History (2012-present):
Against both teams, the Manatees are 5-15 against the Hawks while against the Titans they are 7-13. The Manatees both teams earlier in the season losing 3-0 to both.

Last season, the Manatees fell to the Hawks and the Titans three times. Their last win over both teams was on October 3, 2017 (3-0 @ HCC) and October 27, 2014 (3-0 @ SPC).

How to Keep Up:
Livestream will be provided on the SCF Sports Network page.

Fans can keep up with all three teams on Twitter:
SCF: @SCFVolleyball
HCC: @vb_hawks
SPC: @spcnews

Livestream Link: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/scf/

SCF Falls in Five vs Palm Beach; Gets Shutout vs Indian River

The SCF volleyball team (2-16, 0-3 Suncoast) fought hard in their matches against Palm Beach State and Indian River State at home. The Manatees fell 3-2 (26-24, 24-26, 25-22, 22-25, 8-15) to PBSC (4-12, 0-3 Southern) on Friday before being shutout 3-0 (20-25, 16-25, 18-25) to IRS (11-7, 1-2).

SCF vs PBSC:
"I think it was a good match," said freshman Lisa Jaunet. "We had this energy that kept us going and that's our strength, so it was really good but we had trouble finishing the set and the game overall, which was kind of hard.

"I think we played our best," said sophomore Barbora Tichackova. "Everyone left everything on the floor and we played hard as a team, which I really liked. We had a few new things were trying to work on during and we also executed really well. Overall, I felt good about the game, despite the loss."

Offensively, it was Jaunet and classmate Leilani Wilcox-Nanai and sophomore Lakeesha Esseboom that the Manatees offensively. Jaunet and Wilcox-Nanai each had a double-double with Jaunet leading with 18 kills and 16 digs, while Wilcox-Nanai had 10 kills and 16 digs. Jaunet added an assist and a block, while Wilcox-Nanai added two aces and four blocks. Esseboom was two digs shy of a double-double as she followed Jaunet with 13 kills, eight digs and a block.

"It wasn't my best game," said Jaunet on her performance. "I think I did ok. The whole team did good overall. I did make a few mistakes, but overall it was good, even though the opposing team (PBSC) were taunting us and that's what kept me going."

Freshman Gracee Carpino was also shy of a double-double after finishing the match with 49 assists, nine digs, a kill and two aces.

Defensively, it was Tichackova that led the team with a tied career-high seven blocks (three solo: career-high) to go with her six kills, two aces, and three digs.

"It wasn't my best match," said Tichackova. "But I did have some key blocks and with Gracee (Carpino), we closed out the second set with a big kill, which was pretty good. I felt like I could have done better on serving, but it was good."

Sophomore Sydney Jaco finished with 31 digs.

Other players that contributed for the Manatees included freshmen Jazmin Spencer (three kills, three blocks (two solo)) and Brooke Henry (five digs).

Sophomore Aleksandra Hamuda led the Panthers with a double-double of 19 kills and 10 digs along with two aces and four blocks, while freshman Madison Barton had a double-double of 16 kills and 14 digs to go with her two aces and four blocks.

Freshman Jazmine Sustaita led the Panther defensively with 25 digs and three assists while sophomore Bella Magrino had a team-leading 10 blocks (three solo) to go with her eight kills.

SCF vs IRS:
Esseboom led the Manatees with 10 kills, while Spencer followed with four kills and four digs. Carpino had 20 assists, an ace and six digs.

Jaco led the team defensively with 19 digs to go with her two aces while Wilcox-Nanai had two blocks to go with her three kills.

Freshman Mallory Roney led the Pioneers with 12 kills and four aces, while classmate Tessa Raadshee followed with seven kills.

Freshmen Gabriela Fialova and Jasmine Sayre had 12 digs each.

Other Suncoast Scores:
Florida Southwestern (11-6, 1-2 Suncoast) shutout IRS (10/04) before defeating Palm Beach State (3-1) (10/5). They will play St. Pete College on Tuesday, October 8.

#9 SPC (9-2, 2-1 Suncoast) defeated Miami Dade 3-2 (10/4) before shutting out Broward 3-0 (10/5). They will play SPC Tuesday, October 8.

#15 Hillsborough (19-4, 3-1 Suncoast) shutout Broward 3-0 (10/4) before losing 3-2 to Miami Dade (10/5).

Up Next:
The Manatees remain at home as they welcome #15 HCC to Hal Chasey Gymnasium Tuesday night, October 8 at 6 pm.

SCF VB Sets for Home Crossover Match vs Palm Beach State and IRS

The SCF volleyball team (2-14, 0-3 Suncoast) remain at home for the weekend and take a break from Suncoast Conference play as they welcome Palm Beach State (3-11, 0-3 Southern) Friday night, October 4 at 6 pm and Indian River State (10-6, 1-2 Southern) Saturday, October 5 at noon to Hal Chasey Gymnasium for another FCSAA Crossover Matchup.

Last Time Out:
The Manatees had their Suncoast home opener as they fell 3-0 to Florida Southwestern in their inaugural season and remain in last place in conference.

Sophomore Lakeesha Esseboom and freshman Leilani Wilcox-Nanai lead the Manatees offensively. Esseboom has 109 kills in her name along with 43 digs and 23 blocks, while Wilcox-Nanai has 97 kills and 120 digs. Against FSW, Esseboom had three kills, four digs and an ace while Wilcox-Nanai had seven kills, seven digs, an ace and three blocks.

Freshman Gracee Carpino leads with 367 assists and 18 aces. Carpino had 23 assists in her last match against FSW.

Defensively, sophomore Barbora Tichackova leads the team with 47 blocks (12 solo) and 20 aces while adding 51 kill, while classmate Sydney Jaco has 300 digs in her name along with 31 assists. Tichackova had five kills, two aces and two blocks against FSW, while Jaco had 16 digs and three assists.

Already setting the bar, Jaco currently has 1,068 digs in her career.

Three other players that have made a big name both offensively and defensively are sophomore Daviya "Day" Bernard and freshmen Lisa Jaunet and Brooke Henry.

Bernard is third on the team in kills (75) and tied for second with Jaunet in blocks (24, seven solo). Bernard had two kills and a solo block against FSW.

Jaunet has 64 kills (fourth on the team) and 24 blocks (seven solo). Against FSW, Jaunet had seven kills and two aces.

Henry has 115 digs in her name. Against FSW, Henry had five digs and a kill.

Scouting PBSC:
The Panthers enter their match against SCF on a nine-match losing streak and have not won a game since September 6 vs Pensacola State. The Panthers recently competed in Southern Conference play, losing 3-0 to Indian River and are in last in the Southern Conference.

Freshman Madison Barton leads the team with 104 kills and has 44 blocks (nine solo) while sophomore Aleksandra Hamuda follows with 91 kills and leads the team in aces (13). Sophomores Bella Magrino has 97 kills and is second on the team with 54 blocks (13 solo), while classmate Martha Torres has 70 kills.

Sophomore Sydney Asher has 495 assists and second in aces (10).

Defensively, Torres leads the team with 60 blocks (20 solo) while freshman Jazmine Sustaita takes over in the backrow with 175 digs.

The Manatees and Panthers met with each other in the Santa Fe/Campus USA Classic and the Daytona State Invitational with the Panthers winning 3-2 in a nail-biter of a match (8/24) at the Santa Fe/Campus USA Classic before the Manatees returned the favor and defeated PBSC with a 3-2 nail-biter of a win of their own at the Daytona State Invitational.

Overall, the Manatees are 8-4 against the Panthers (2012-present).

Scouting Indian River:
The Pioneers recently competed against Palm Beach State winning 3-0 in Southern Conference play. Currently, the Pioneers are in third place in the Southern Conference.

Offensively, freshman Tessa Raadsheer leads the team with 170 kills, 108 digs and 20 aces. In her match against PBSC, Raadsheer had 14 kills and eight digs.

Following Raadsheer is classmate Mallory Roney. Roney has 151 kills in her name. In her last match, Roney had 10 kills against PBSC.

Sophomore Erin Ergle has 257 assists in her name. Ergle had 32 assists against PBSC.

Defensively, freshman Kaitlyn Chavarria leads the team with 35 blocks (10 solo). Chavarria had  seven blocks (two solo) along with three kills. Freshman Jasmine Sayre has 195 digs and 11 aces. Sayre had 12 digs and two aces against PBSC.

The Manatees are tied 3-4 in the overall series as both team met in the Daytona State Invitational with the Manatees losing 3-1.

How to Keep Up:
Both matche will air on livestream on the SCF Sports Network. Fans can keep up to date with both teams on Twitter:
SCF: @SCFVolleyball
PBSC: @PBSCPanthers
IRS: @irscvb

Promos:
Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the weekend for both matches will be dubbed as a pink out. Fans and SCF Maniacs are encouraged to wear pink to both matches.

Livestream Link: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/scf/

Leilani's Volleyball Journey

On the SCF volleyball team, there are six freshman from all over the world that have a story to tell about how they got to their volleyball journey. The story I did for on one of the player was the most interesting yet heartfelt stories I ever did.

Leilani Wilcox-Nanai went through many obstacles to get to college and start her volleyball career. Wilcox-Nanai hails from Christchurch, New Zealand, the third biggest city in New Zealand, and played outside hitter at Christchurch Girls High School prior to SCF. Her journey to start her volleyball career came from her own backyard.

"My brother played volleyball in high school, but I never played because I didn't think I was very good at it," said Wilcox-Nanai. "During my junior year of high school, I tried out for the high school team, and for some strange reason I was actually good at it and I don't know how it happened. My father also played volleyball. We would play volleyball for church every Wednesday or Saturday night. When I got there, guys would hit the ball at me, which was helpful for my volleyball career. It made me quicker."

While in New Zealand, Wilcox-Nanai played club volleyball and was a member of the New Zealand Junior Women's Volleyball Team while also playing on club teams at the U19 Interprovincial Championship, the Canterbury School School Championships Tournament Team, and the Youth South Island New Zealand Team. She has also earned several academic awards (Distinction Award, Whannau Te Reo Award, School Leader Award, Mathematics Award, and Te Reo Maori Award) as well as being named MVP of the season for her club team.

"During club season, I had a coach who I trained with that told me to go to the US to see how I can do," said Wilcox-Nanai.

For Wilcox-Nanai and the trip to Florida, this was the second time that she has ever been to the United States. The first time that she went was in California where she had family there.

"It was an amazing experience living there for five weeks," said Wilcox-Nanai. "It was different, especially when I liked the food there."

Prior to SCF, Wilcox-Nanai decided to apply to junior colleges (NJCAA and CCCAA) from her coach's suggestion.

"My coach told me to apply at JUCO schools so I can get a better opportunity for a D1 school and I did have a few offers from schools in Texas, Wyoming and of course Florida," said Wilcox-Nanai. "I chose SCF because it was the nicest out of all the colleges. When I was FaceTiming Coach Byrd, I thought she was gonna be hard and I thought that she and the coaching staff could help me improve my skills."

Wilcox-Nanai is the first out of her whole family to go to college with an influence from her parents and her brother.

"It's different and I know everyone has different lives and different experiences," said Wilcox-Nanai on her college experience. Since I was the last child, all my older siblings made sure that I was okay, so I was very lucky for that."

"My parents wanted me to go more than I did and my brother was my biggest supporter," said Wilcox-Nanai on her brother's support. "He would train me and in the mornings we'd do our own training or whenever we had free time, he would always train me. When we train together, he would tell me things and even pay for our trips. He was a big part of why I'm here."

When Wilcox-Nanai arrived in Florida, she described her first experience as "stormy" from the weather she went through to get there.

"I loved it because I could go swimming in the water," said Wilcox-Nanai. "It was exciting because where I stayed, we had a pool that go out to and enjoy the water. Volleyball-wise, it was cool yet so different in America from New Zealand. We would train a lot in the US whereas in New Zealand, we didn't train much, but I like it."

While she continues to practice her game, Wilcox-Nanai does like to do things outside of volleyball, mainly just being out on the water.

"I just like being outside in the sun and watching the sunset," said Wilcox-Nanai. "But just like being on the water and going to the beach."

While she was getting use to meeting and greeting all of her new teammates, two of her teammates that gave her the most warm welcome was sophomore Barbora Tichackova and freshman Lisa Jaunet.

"Barbora is the nicest person on the whole team," said Wilcox-Nanai. "She was the one that picked me up from the airport along with Lisa (Jaunet) because I met them first. It was kind of hard for me in the beginning because I came in late due to issues with my visa, so I missed out on preseason and everyone had a few weeks of just hanging out with each other, so they would obviously were closer than when I was going to be."

As a result of her late arrival at SCF, Wilcox-Nanai was unable to play the first two matches of the season and practice for a while, but then was finally cleared to play in her first match against Santa Fe and produced eight kills and 13 digs.

"I was kind of nervous when coach Byrd started me," said Wilcox-Nanai on her first match. "I was so appreciative about playing in it. I wasn't even expecting to start straight away and it kind of freaked me out a bit. It was good though even batting through the nerves, but I've managed to battle through it."

Wilcox-Nanai does plan to go back to New Zealand after college and continue her studies while returning to play club volleyball, but through to the end, she has made sure to keep her journey flowing smoothly to the end.

SCF VB Welcomes FSW VB for First Ever Matchup

The SCF volleyball team (2-13, 0-2 Suncoast) returns home for their Suncoast home opener Tuesday night, October 1 at 6 pm at Hal Chasey Gymnasium. The Manatees welcome Florida Southwestern State (8-6, 0-2 Suncoast) for their first ever matchup in volleyball.

Last Time Out:
The Manatees opened Suncoast Conference play on the road as they faced #10 Hillsborough and #17 St. Pete. In both matches, the Manatees were shutout 3-0.

Key Manatees:
Offensively, the duo of sophomore Lakeesha Esseboom and freshman Leilani Wilcox-Nanai lead the team. Esseboom leads with 102 kills. In both conference matches, Esseboom had seven kills and eight digs.

Meanwhile Wilcox-Nanai follows with 90 kills while adding 120 digs (2nd on the team). The New Zealander had a total of eight kills and nine digs in both conference matches.

Freshman Gracee Carpino leads the team with 344 assists and 18 aces. Carpino had a combined 29 assists in both conference matches.

As far as defensively, along with Esseboom, sophomore Barbora Tichackova and Daviya Bernard and freshman Lisa Jaunet lead the team for blocking. Tichackova leads all her teammates with 45 blocks (12 solo) while Esseboom (23 blocks, seven solo), Bernard (23 blocks, six solo) and Jaunet (24 blocks, seven solo). Tichackova is also tied with Carpino with 18 aces while adding 46 kills, Bernard adds 73 kills and Jaunet adds 57 kills.

Meanwhile sophomore Sydney Jaco and freshman Brooke Henry take the reigns as the key defensive specialist. Jaco leads the Manatees with 284 digs while Henry has 111. Both had 10 digs each in the match against HCC.

Scouting FSW:
As noted, this is the inaugural season for the Buccaneers. They are coming off of also falling to HCC and SPC.

The team is led by first year head coach Thais Baziquetto-Allen. Baziquetto-Allen spent the last four seasons at Seward County Community College (NJCAA Region VI) with three of those years as head coach. She is joined by Alex Soloid as her assistant coach. The team consists of 11 freshman and two sophomores with more than half of the team hailing from Brazil.

Offensively, the freshman duo of Julia de Sa and Amanda Mendes lead the team with over 120 kills (de Sa: 127, Mendes: 122). de Sa is also second on the team in digs (103), while Mendes is third on the team in blocks (33, two solo) and second in aces (12). de Sa had 10 combined kills and 13 combined digs in their conference matches, while Mendes had 18 kills and two blocks.

Sophomore Marina Alonso leads with 334 assists. Alonso had 40 combined assists in both Suncoast matches.

Defensively, freshman Kianie Cummings leads the team with 54 blocks (10 solo) while adding 49 kills to her regime. Cummings had three kills and seven blocks (one solo) in both Suncoast matches.

Freshman Viktoria Ivanova leads the way with 153 digs and 17 aces. Ivanova had 20 digs against HCC.

How to Keep Up:
The match will air on livestream on the SCF Sports Network. Fans can keep up to date with both teams on Twitter:
SCF: @SCFVolleyball
FSW: @FSWBucs

Promos:
The promotion will be dubbed as Navy Blue Night. Fans and SCF Maniacs are encouraged to wear navy blue to the match. In addition, it will also be military appreciation night for the men and women that served and/or are active in all branches of the military. Admission is free for all members of any branch of the military.

Admission for the match is as noted:
General admission: $5
Children: $3
Student/Staff with SCF: Free

Livestream Link: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/scf/

SCF VB Falls in Suncoast Openers

The SCF volleyball team (2-13, 0-2 Suncoast) opened Suncoast Conference play on the road but were shutout 3-0 to #10 Hillsborough (17-3, 2-0 Suncoast) (22-25, 14-25, 14-25) and #17 St. Pete College (7-1, 2-0 Suncoast) (12-25, 9-25, 14-25). With both losses, the Manatees are now 5-15 against the Hawks and 7-13 against the Titans.

vs HCC:
Offensively against the Hawks, sophomore Lakeesha Esseboom and freshman Leilani Wilcox-Nanai led the team with five kills each. Esseboom added three digs, while Wilcox-Nanai added an ace and eight digs. Sophomore Barbora Tichakova and freshman Lisa Jaunet added four kills each with Tichakova adding two blocks (one solo). Freshman Gracee Carpino had 14 assists and one dig.

Defensively, sophomore Sydney Jaco and freshman Brooke Henry had 10 digs each. Jaco added an assist, while Henry added an ace and two assists.

Freshman Isabel Martin led the Hawks with 16 kills and seven digs, while classmate Zoe Konjer had 24 assists and four digs.

Defensively, sophomore Olivia Piazza had 13 digs to go with her eight kills while sophomore Caroline Molossi-Benke had 10 digs and three aces

vs SPC:
Against the Titans, freshman Jazmin Spencer led the team with four kills while Wilcox-Nanai, Tichakova and sophomore Daviya Bernard had three kills each. Wilcox-Nanai added a dig and an assist, Tichakova added one block and an ace and Bernard added two blocks.

Esseboom led the team defensively with five digs while adding two kills, while Jaco and sophomore Hannah Strickland added four digs each. Jaco also added one assist.

Sophomore Andressa Praise and freshman Petra Neciporuka had 10 kills each for the Titans. Praise added two solo blocks, while Neciporuka added four aces and three digs.

Defensively for the Titans, freshman Laura Ovelar led the way with four solo blocks while sophomore Kateryna Dashevska had seven digs.

With her 14 digs in both matches, Jaco now has 1,068 career digs.

Up Next:
The Manatees will return home for Suncoast play as they welcome FSW (8-6, 0-2 Suncoast) to Hal Chasey Gymnasium Tuesday night, October 1 at 6 pm.

SCF VB Opens Suncoast Play On the Road

The SCF volleyball team (2-11) will begin Suncoast Conference play on the road as they take on #10 Hillsborough CC (14-2) at the Dale Mabry Campus in Tampa Tuesday night, September 24 before facing #17 St. Pete College (5-1) at the St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus Gymnasium Thursday night, September 26. Both matches are scheduled to start at 6 pm.

Last Time Out:
The Manatees are coming off of competing in two FCSAA Crossover matches where they were shutout by Broward and Miami Dade College. The two matches were the last two matches before Suncoast Play.

Key Players:
Offensively for the Manatees, sophomore Lakeesha Esseboom and freshman Leilani Wilcox-Nanai lead the way. Esseboom leads the team with 99 kills and is third in total blocks (22, six solo) while Wilcox-Nanai follows Esseboom with 82 kills and is second in digs (111). Esseboom had 13 kills and five blocks in the crossover matches while six kills and 13 digs.

Freshman Gracee Carpino leads the team with 315 assists and 18 aces. Carpino had 25 combined assists in the crossover matches.

Defensively, along with Esseboom, sophomore Barbora Tichackova and Daviya Bernard and freshman Lisa Jaunet hold the anchor in blocks. Tichackova leads the team with 42 blocks (10 solo) and 39 kills while Bernard is third on the team in kills (67) and fourth in blocks (21, five solo) and Jaunet has 53 kills (4th on the team) and is second in blocks (23, seven solo). Tichakova had five kills and nine blocks, Bernard had 14 kills and three blocks and Jaunet had nine kills and four blocks last times out.

Sophomore Sydney Jaco has 270 digs in her name (5.63 digs per set). Jaco had 33 combined digs in the crossover matches. In her career, Jaco has 1,054 digs.

Scouting HCC:
The Hawks are ranked #5 in the FCSAA Coaches Poll and #11 in the NJCAA National Poll. In their last outing, the Hawks are coming off of defeating Palm Beach State (3-1) and Indian River State (3-2) in their crossover matches.

Offensively, freshman Isabel Martin leads the team with 213 kills and 17 aces while going second in digs (136). In her crossover matches, Martin had a combined 33 kills and 27 digs. In fact, Martin has produced a double-double in four straight matches.

The Hawks will likely use a double setter formation with freshman Zoe Konjer and sophomore Mariana Volponi e Giordan. Konjer and Volponi e Giordan have produced a combined 578 assists (Konjer: 227,  Volponi e Giordan: 351). In their last outings, Konjer had 40 combined assists while Volponi e Giordan had 56.

Defensively, freshman middle blocker Nadine Burbrink and sophomore libero Caroline Molossi-Benke play key roles.

Burbrink leads the team with 56 blocks (14 solo) to go along with 87 kills (3rd on the team) and 12 aces (2nd on the team). Burbrink had 17 kills and 10 blocks in her last outings.

Following the pedigree and footsteps of her older sister and FGCU alum Vanessa Benke, Molossi-Benke leads the team with 253 digs and 11 aces (third on the team). In her last two matches, the product out of Toledo, Brazil had 46 digs and two aces, which include a career-high 30 digs against IRS.

Scouting SPC:
The Titans are ranked #4 in the FCSAA Coaches Poll and #17 in the NJCAA National Poll despite having played only six matches out of their 10 scheduled this season. The four matches they were scheduled to play in were cancelled due to the possibility of Hurricane Dorian hitting Florida. They recently played in their crossover matches against Indian River State and Palm Beach State winning both matches by a score of 3-1.

The Titans will play Florida Southwestern Tuesday night in Fort Myers at 6 pm.

The sophomore duo of Andressa Praise and Roberta Ribeiro lead the Titans offensively. Praise leads the team with 77 kills while Ribiero has 75. In their crossover matches, Praise had a combined 26 kills while Ribiero had 24 kills.

Defensively, Praise lead the team with 23 blocks (14 solo) while classmate Kateryna Dashevska has a team-leading 64 digs and 13 aces (2nd on the team). Dashevska had a combined 21 digs and six aces in the crossover matches.

Series History (2012-present):
Against both teams, the Manatees are 5-14 against the Hawks while against the Titans they are 7-12.

Last season, the Manatees fell to the Hawks and the Titans three times. Their last win over both teams was on October 3, 2017 (3-0 @ HCC) and October 27, 2014 (3-0 @ SPC).

How to Keep Up:
Fans can keep up with all three teams on Twitter:
SCF: @SCFVolleyball
HCC: @vb_hawks
SPC: @spcnews

SCF VB Struggles in Crossover Match @ MDC and Broward

The SCF volleyball team (2-11) struggled in their FCSAA crossover matches as they were shutout 3-0 by Broward College (8-3) (16-25, 18-25, 29-31) and Miami Dade (13-2) (12-25, 17-25, 21-25). With the losses, the Manatees are 2-15 against the Sharks and 1-4 against the Seahawks.

@ Broward:
Offensively, it was the sophomore duo of Lakeesha Esseboom and Daviya Bernard that led the Manatees offensively as they finished with seven kills each. Esseboom also added five digs and two blocks while Bernard added two digs and three blocks (one solo). Sophomore Hannah Strickland and freshman Gracee Carpino had double digit assists (Strickland: 12 assists; Carpino: 11 assists). Strickland added four digs, while Carpino added six digs.

Freshman Lisa Jaunet followed Esseboom and Bernard with six kills and four blocks (one solo), while sophomore Barbora Tichackova and freshman Leilani Wilcox-Nanai had four kills each. Tichackova added five blocks, one ace and seven digs while Wilcox-Nanai added six digs.

Sophomore Sydney Jaco finished with 15 digs and three assists.

@MDC:
Bernard would lead the Manatees offensively with seven kills, while Esseboom followed with six kills and three blocks and freshman Jazmin Spencer added five kills. Freshman Gracee Carpino had 14 assists and four digs.

Defensively, Tichackova had four blocks to go with one kill while Jaco added 18 digs and one assist. Jaco's 33 combined digs put her at 1,054 in her career.

Other Suncoast Scores:
#11 HCC (14-2) defeated Palm Beach State (3-1) and Indian River State (3-2) in their crossover matches.

RV St. Pete College (5-1) defeated IRS and PBSC both by a score of 3-1.

Florida Southwestern (8-4) split their crossover matches as they were shutout by MDC before winning 3-2 over Broward.

Up Next:
The Manatees remain on the road as they prepare to open Suncoast Conference play. They will travel to Tampa to face #11 HCC Tuesday night at 6 pm before traveling to St. Pete to face RV SPC Thursday night (9/26) at 6 pm.

SCF VB Sets for Crossover Match @ Broward; Miami Dade

The SCF volleyball team (2-9) return on the road for the weekend for an FCSAA crossover match as they travel to face Broward College (7-3) at the George E. Mayer Gymnasium in Davie, Florida Friday, September 20 at 6 pm before traveling to Miami to take on Miami Dade College (11-2) at the Gibson Center Gymnasium Saturday, September 21 at noon. The two matches will be the first of the two crossover matches.

Last Time Out:
The Manatees are coming off of a hard fought loss to Daytona State at home losing 3-1.

Sophomore Lakeesha Esseboom (86 kills) and freshman Leilani Wilcox-Nanai (76 kills) lead the way offensively for the Manatees while sophomores Sydney Jaco (237 digs) and Barbora Tichackova (38 kills, 14 aces and 33 blocks) lead the way defensively. Sophomore Daviya Bernard (53 kills and 16 blocks) and freshmen Lisa Jaunet (44 kills 19 blocks) and Brooke Henry (98 digs and six aces) also play key roles on both sides of the court.

Scouting Broward:
The Seahawks are coming off of competing in the PBSC Tournament where they fell 3-1 to Polk State College before opening Southern Conference play with a 3-0 win over Indian River State.

Sophomore Raytchelle Miranda leads the team with 113 kills and 25 blocks while classmate Mia Thomas has 323 assists.

Defensively, the freshman duo of Kawana Jeronimo and Yasmin Figueirdo have a combined 80 total blocks (Jeronimo: 35 blocks (17 solo); Figueirdo: 45 (23 solo)) while classmate Bruna Torres has 161 digs in her name.

Scouting Miami Dade:
The Sharks are coming off of opening conference play (Southern Conference) after shutting out Palm Beach State 3-0. Prior to conference play, the Sharks competed in the College of Southern Nevada Tournament/Coyote Volleyball Invitational where they went 3-1 splitting day one with a 3-1 loss to Seward County Community College and a 3-0 shutout win over Central Wyoming College before defeating Salt Lake Community College 3-1 and a 3-0 shutout win over Arizona Western College on day two. They will Florida Southwestern at home prior to hosting SCF.

Sophomores Yaniris Miller-Green and Scherine Dahoue lead the Sharks in triple digit kills (Miller-Green: 182; Dahoue: 167). Dahoue also leads the team with 20 aces and adding 153 digs while Miller-Green has 29 blocks (2nd on the team). Against PBSC, Miller-Green had 10 kills and three blocks (one solo) Dahoue had six kills and four aces.

Defensively, sophomore Vanda Zimova leads the team with 32 blocks to go with her 56 kills while freshman Paola Pimentel leads the team with 254 digs (18th in the nation). Against PBSC, Zimova had five kills and a block while Pimentel had 17 digs.

Series History (2012-present):
Overall, the Manatees are 2-14 against the Sharks and 1-3 against the Seahawks. The Manatees faced the Seahawks twice this season losing 3-1 in the first match (9/4) and 3-0 in match two (9/6). The Manatees lone win over the Seahawks was on September 21, 2012 where they won 3-0 at Hal Chasey Gymnasium.

Last time SCF faced MDC was on October 13, 2018 at Hal Chasey Gymnasium where the Sharks shutout the Manatees 3-0. The Manatees' last win over the Sharks was on October 3, 2014 where they won 3-0 at Hal Chasey Gymnasium.

SCF VB Strong Falls Short vs Daytona State

The SCF volleyball team (2-9) played a hard fought fourth set against Daytona State College (8-2), but it was not enough as the Manatees fell 3-1 (16-25, 25-21, 10-25, 24-26). With the loss, SCF is 2-14 against the Falcons.

"I am extremely proud of them," said interim head coach Lynn Burnett. "We came in with a game plan and knew what we need to execute to come in and still learning to work as a team. We do got some young players that are learning their roles and as a whole, the team is still learning how to own their roles together and they did a phenomenal job tonight and we saw it."*

"It was reflecting in the games for sure and I could tell you there's not one single player that would stand out to me that stood out tonight because they fought back from a deficit and hung in there with an extremely tough team point for point and did what they needed to do together."

Offensively, it was freshman Lisa Jaunet and sophomore Lakeesha Esseboom that led the team offensively. Jaunet and Esseboom finished with eight kills each with Jaunet adding a three digs and a block, while Esseboom added two digs. Freshman Leilani Wilcox-Nanai followed with four kills and seven digs, while classmate Gracee Carpino had 16 assists and five digs.

Defensively, sophomore Barbora Tichackova and freshman Bailey Sikkema finished with five blocks each (both with one solo block). Tichackova add two aces and five digs, while Sikkema added three kills and two digs.

Sophomore Sydney Jaco finished with 20 digs and two assists. Jaco's 20 digs put her at 1,021 in her career.

Other Suncoast Scores:
^RV St. Pete College (3-1) split their two home matches falling 3-2 to Polk State (9/12) before shutting out Santa Fe (9/17) 3-0. The Titans will play in an FCSAA Crossover Match on the road facing Indian River State (9/20) in Fort Pierce and will follow traveling to West Palm Beach to take on Palm Beach State (9/21).

^After upsetting #15 College of Central Florida (CCF), Florida Southwestern (7-3) competed in the two-day FSC Jacksonville Tournament where they defeated host Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) 3-1, shutout Eastern Florida State 3-0 and defeated Richard Bland (NJCAA Region 10) 3-1. The Buccaneers will play in the FCSAA Crossover traveling to Miami to face Miami Dade College (9/20) before traveling to Davie to face Broward College (9/21).

^#11 Hillsborough (12-1) joined FSW in the two-day FSC Jacksonville Tournament and shutout Eastern Florida State, Richard Bland and host FSCJ by a score of 3-0. They will be on the road for the next three matches as they travel to Winter Park to face former Suncoast Conference member Polk State (9/19) before competing in the FCSAA Crossover match as they travel to West Palm Beach to take on Palm Beach State (9/20) and then Fort Pierce to take on Indian River State (9/20).

Up Next:
The Manatees will be on the road for the next two non-conference matches for the weekend as they travel to Davie to face Broward College (5-3) on Friday, September 20 at 6 pm before traveling to Miami to take on Miami Dade College (10-2) Saturday, September 21 at noon for the FCSAA Crossover match.

*side note: This is the first interview done with interim head coach Burnett.

^All four teams will play in the next two to three matches as crossover matches before beginning Suncoast Conference play.

Third Time's the Charm for SCF VB vs Daytona

The SCF volleyball team (2-8) remain at home for their third home match at Hal Chasey Gymnasium. The Manatees welcome Daytona State College (7-2) Tuesday night, September 17 at 6 pm.

Last Time Out:
The Manatees are coming off of returning home after going 1-3 at the Daytona State Invitational where they earned their first win against Palm Beach State. In their second home match, the Manatees pulled away with a big 3-0 shutout over Webber International (NAIA-JV).

Offensively, it is the duo of sophomore Lekeesha Esseboom and freshman Leilani Wilcox-Nanai that lead the way. Esseboom currently has 78 kills and 17 blocks (six solo) in her name while Wilcox-Nanai has 72 kills and 91 digs. Esseboom had five kills and three blocks (two solo) against Webber while Wilcox-Nanai had three kills and eight digs.

Freshman Gracee Carpino lead the way with 274 assists and 18 aces. Carpino had 15 assists and three aces against Webber.

Defensively, along with Esseboom, sophomores Barbora Tichackova and Daviya Bernard and freshman Lisa Jaunet lead the team as the key blockers. Tichackova has 28 total blocks (nine solo) to go with her 34 kills and 12 aces, Bernard had 17 blocks with her 51 kills and Jaunet had 18 blocks with her 36 kills. Tichackova has a career-high eight aces with three kills and four blocks (one solo), Bernard with five kills and a block and Jaunet had two kills and two blocks (one solo) against Webber.

1,000 Dig Club:
For sophomore Sydney Jaco, she did the unthinkable against Webber as she claimed her 1,000th career dig in the third set. Jaco currently has 217 digs in her name as well as 20 assists and an ace. Against Webber, the Braden River product had 23 digs and 1,001 in her career.

Scouting Daytona State:
The Manatees have faced Daytona State on two times this season on neutral grounds (Santa Fe/Campus USA Classic and the Daytona State Invitational) with both scores in Daytona State's favor. The Falcons are coming off of facing Palm Beach State where they won 3-1 on the road.

Offensively, freshman Carla Hernandez leads the team with 104 kills and 10 aces. Against PBSC Hernandez had a double-double of 13 kills and 11 digs and three aces. Sophomore Bruna Avila has 317 assists and eight aces. Avila had a double-double of 46 assists and 10 digs and one ace.

Defensively, sophomore Alexis Thompson has 35 blocks (11 solo) in her name to go with her 30 kills, while classmate Nicole Rodriguez has 127 digs in her name. Against PBSC, Thompson had six kills and two blocks while Rodriguez had 19 digs.

The Manatees are 2-13 against the Falcons which included the two losses this season. Last time the Manatees defeated Daytona State was on October 3, 2014 where the Manatees won 3-0 as part of their third longest winning streak.

How to Keep Up:
The match will be livestream on game central, the new home for SCF athletics and fans can also keep up to date with both teams on Twitter:
SCF: @SCFVolleyball
DSC:  @DSCFalconSports

Livestream Link: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/scf/