Huntsville, Ala - The SCF beach volleyball team (10-6) started off strong in pool play on day one of the NJCAA Beach Volleyball Championship at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Alabama as they shutout Bryant and Stratton (0-6) 5-0 before defeating Richard Bland (21-12) 3-2.
"This team has been growing during the season," said head coach Eunyce Vercosa. "All the players' being has been so important for the team and I feel grateful as a coach for this amazing team we created this season."
"I think the team did pretty well, even though some of us were not playing the way they wanted," said sophomore Amanda Goudinho Pizzol "Overall, we did what we needed to do, despite the hours of travel we had."
"Overall, I thought we did well," said freshman Teresa Briefeneder. "The first matchup was a slow start for us after a long bus trip, but it was good to come out on top and win all five matches as a team. In the second match, I thought we played well together today. We struggled in previous games, but it was really nice that we could push each other and take the best of each other to get the win."
SCF vs Bryant and Stratton:
Sophomores Kayla Gentry and Rhea Kohl defeated sophomore Morgan Neitzell and freshman Mia Lenius 21-5, 21-7 on the #1 court. Perry and Rebimbas would follow with a 21-9, 21-4 win over freshmen Addison Miller and Melissa Lynn Bruhn on the #5 court before Gaudinho Pizzol and Briefeneder sealed the victory with a 21-7, 21-8 over freshmen Allison Erhlich the #3 court.
Play would resume as Cook and McGuire defeated freshman Philomena Hall and Paxton Longseth 21-9, 21-11 at the #4 court before freshmen Addison Beaver and Aleksandra Wrobel defeated freshmen Cayce Farrell and Michaela Reige 21-18, 21-8 at the #2 court.
Prior to SCF's win, Richard Bland shutout Bryant and Stratton 5-0.
SCF vs Richard Bland College:
Gentry and Kohl would once again put to the challenge at the #1 court against sophomore Sarah Heath and Jordan Schlageter, but with a strong focus, Gentry and Kohl would take down the reigning NJCAA Region 10 Pair of the Year with a 21-13 pair decision. This would put the Statesmen on edge as Perry and Rebimbas would fall to freshman Phoebe Heath and Peyton Osetenson at the #5 court 21-18, 21-14 before they took the lead after Beaver and Wrobel fell to sophomore Leilani Goggin and freshman Alexis Scipione in three sets (21-10, 19-21, 10-15) at the #2 court.
All eyes turned towards the final two courts that were also in three sets. Gaudinho Pizzol and Briefeneder, who struggled in the first set before making a comeback in the second set, would face them in a battle with sophomore Morgan Green and freshman Kiley Pickett at the #3 court. A costly mistake on Richard Bland's side would give Gaudinho Pizzol and Briefeneder a momentum change as they took the final two points and win in three sets (21-19, 21-15, 17-15).
On the final court, Cook and McGuire fought valiantly and were able to defeat freshmen Addison White and Aubrey Hyndshaw in three sets on the #4 court (21-16, 20-22, 15-13) to give the Manatees the victory.
Other NJCAA Tournament Scores:
Palm Beach State (19-8) shutout Gaston College (9-21) and Mesa CC (12-12) both by a score of 5-0.
Lake Sumter State (11-14) shutout Sandhills CC (12-16) and Trinidad State (1-12) 5-0 while Sandhills CC defeated Trinidad State 4-1.
Up Next:
The Manatees will be back in action Friday morning, May 3 for a second round of pool play. They will face Trinidad State at 10:15 am before facing Mesa CC at 4:30 pm.