"I thought all of our teams played pretty well," said head coach Eunyce Vercosa. "They have been practicing hard and smart while being able to apply all of that in the game. Our focus for Eckerd is to keep applying what we have been working on and see what we need to change or keep practicing for the season."

 

"I thought everyone did really good," said sophomore Amanda Goudinho Pizzol. "We were in a battle and trying to get as many points in as many sets as we could to win the game. I thought we really focused on our game plan that the coaches told us to do and make the game flow better.

 

"We worked really hard in practice on serve receive and hitting," said sophomore Kayla Gentry. "I think everything that we practiced is finally coming together for us and it was good for us to see it happen."

 

"I think overall we really worked together," said freshman Rhea Kohl. "Our practice definitely showed on the court that we have been going five times a week and the proof is in the pudding, so we are very good at sideout and serving with all the essentials."

 

 

SCF vs FSCJ:

The Manatees opened with a quick win as the duo of sophomore Caelan Cook and freshman Katrina Tallo won the #5 pair by forfeit. Following the forfeit win, the freshmen duo of Aleksandra Wrobel and Addison Beaver would sweep sophomore Haley Wojnaroski and freshman Breanna Brown 21-5, 21-7 at the #3 pair before sophomore Bailee Perry and freshman Morgan McGuire defeated sophomore Carlie Vining and freshman Abigail Bucci in three sets (21-13, 18-21, 15-11) to seal the full victory for the Manatees.

 

Play would resume as Kohl and Gentry would sweep sophomore Elaina Reynolds and freshman Hana Roberts 21-12, 21-7 at the #2 pair before Goudinho Pizzol and freshman Teresa Briefeneder swept sophomore Marisa Hauser and freshman Martina Soler Marti 22-20, 21-13 at the #1 pair.

 

Following the Manatees' win, St. John's River State would defeat Florida State College at Jacksonville 5-0.

 

SCF vs St. John's River State:

Heading into the final matchups, Cook and Tallo would open with 21-16, 21-12 win over sophomore Gianna San Fillipo and freshman Summer Replogle at the #5 pair. Wrobel and Beaver would follow with a 21-16, 21-9 win over sophomore Camryn Dean and freshman Hannah Hamill at the #4 pair before Kohl and Gentry sealed the final match with a 21-9, 21-18 win over the freshman duo of Lauren Herz and Ashlyn Caddell at the #1 pair.

 

"I really enjoy playing with Kayla," said Kohl on playing with Gentry. "She takes advice really well and takes it really quickly, so it's very easy playing with her."

 

"I really loved playing with Rhea," said Gentry on playing with Kohl. "She pushes me to be a better person, communicates very well and she lets me know where to put the ball, if there's a block up or if there's an option which really helps me. I do so much better with someone with good communication. We connect really well together."

 

Play continued as Perry and McGuire would defeat the freshman duo of Taylor Vecchione and Becky Theim in three sets (17-21, 21-13, 15-9) before Pizzol and Briefeneder defeated sophomore Taylor Delaney and freshman Gianna Mora also in three sets (21-15, 12-21, 15-9). 

 

"I thought I did really good working with 'T'," said Pizzol. "It may not have been my best game, but I thought we worked really well together and I'm very proud of us."

 

Notes:

This was coaching debut for Vercosa.

 

"I think every practice for me is more important and the game is just one more part of practice," said Vercosa on her debut. I do not create expectations in the games, but what we work it in practice.

 

Other Region 8 Scores:

On Monday, February 5, Palm Beach State (3-1, 2-0 Region 8) split in a tri-match as they fel to Palm Beach Atlantic University (2-0) 4-1 before defeating Barry University (0-2) 5-0. The Panthers will return home to Lake Worth to take on Florida Southern and Ave Maria University in a tri-match Saturday, February 17 at 10 am and 2 pm.

 

On Friday, February 2, Lake Sumter State (1-1, 1-1 Region 8) split their season opener with a 3-2 loss to Palm Beach State and a 4-1 win over St. John's River State. The Lakehawks will travel to Lakeland to face Florida Southern and Warner University Saturday, February 10 at 12 and 2 pm.

 

NJCAA Region 8 Standings:

1. SCF (2-0, 2-0)

2. Palm Beach State (3-1, 2-0)

3. Lake Sumter (1-1, 1-1)

4. St. John's River State (1-3, 1-3)

5. Florida State College at Jacksonville (0-2, 0-2)

 

Up Next:

The Manatees will head 30 minutes North to St. Petersburg as they will face Eckerd College in a scrimmage Saturday, February 10 at 10 am.