By Pat Clines

Bradenton, Fla - After a modest start to the 2023 season, the SCF volleyball team (1-1) will look to increase their momentum remaining on the road. The Manatees will travel to Cuthbert, Georgia for their next road trip as they will play Andrew College (0-1) and Southern Union State CC (1-4) in a tri-match Friday afternoon, August 25 at 2 and 4 pm at Jinks Gymnasium. This will be the first time the Manatees play both teams.

Last Time Out:

The Manatees are coming off of opening their season on the road with a split in a tri-match against Warner University JV and Webber International University JV. They would defeat Webber 3-0 before falling to Warner by a score of 3-2. The opening win against Webber was the first time since 2016 that the Manatees started the season with a win.

Debuts:

Seven of the newcomers for the Manatees made their official on-court debuts. Those players are sophomore Katie Keefe and freshmen Alanna McCaughey, Charlotte Herman, Kat Tallo, Elise Bakken, Aleksandra Wrobel and Morgan McGuire.

Keefe joined the Manatees after playing beach volleyball her freshman year at Stetson University. The native of London, England currently has 13 kills, five aces, two assists and 42 digs, which included a 25 dig game against Warner that earned her a spot in the FCSAA 25 Dig Club. Historically, she is the first player from the United Kingdom to play for the volleyball program and the first transfer from an NCAA DI university.

McCaughey only played in the first match against Webber International where she had 13 digs, three aces and five assists.

Herman has 16 kills, six digs and five blocks (two solo) in her debut. The native of Memphis, Tennessee joined after graduating from Venice High School.

Tallo, a local from Sarasota, has 14 kills, 20 digs, five assists, three blocks (two solo) and two aces from both matches.

Bakken, who hails from Norway, currently has 36 assists, one ace and 16 digs in her name. In the second match against Warner, Bakken almost secured her first collegiate double-double where she had 22 assists and eight digs. She is the first Norwegian to play for SCF.

Wrobel, a native of Poland, currently has nine kills, five digs and three blocks this season. She is the first player from Poland to play for SCF.

McGuire has 22 assists, 18 digs and four aces. Like Bakken, McGuire also almost secured her first collegiate double-double in the match against Warner where she finished with 15 assists and nine digs.

Return Standup:

From the returners standpoint, sophomore Bailee Perry, Caelan Cook, Isabella Rebimbas and Rachel Carroll were the only returners that played in the season opener.

Perry has 12 kills, 28 digs, two aces and three blocks, while Cook had 10 kills and five digs, Rebimbas had one kill and one dig and Carroll had two aces and four digs.

Scouting Andrew College:

Andrew College hails from Cuthbert, Georgia and represents NJCAA Region 17 (Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association). They are lead by second year head coach Cara Tafoya and are coming off of finishing last season 5-17 overall. They are the only community college in Georgia that has a volleyball team.

The Lady Tigers have opened their season on the road with 3-0 loss to Coastal Alabama - East. Prior to playing SCF and Southern Union State, they will face Reinhardt University JV Wednesday, August 23.

Key returners for the Lady Tigers include Kyla Snowden (47 kills, four aces, nine digs and four blocks), Skylar Paul (16 kills, five aces and 20 digs), Zarria Smith (44 digs, four aces, two assists and three kills) and former SCF Manatee Haylie Poole (16 kills and 19 blocks [15 solo]).

Scouting Southern Union State:

Southern Union State hails from Wesley, Alabama and represents the Alabama Community College Conference (NJCAA Region 22) and are lead by head coach Ametrice Jackson. The Lady Bison are coming off of finishing last season 7-24 overall with a 4-20 record in the ACCC.

The Lady Bison have already opened their season at Roane State Tournament in Harriman, Tennessee where they lost three of their four matches. They fell USC Lancaster (3-1), Wallace State (3-0) and host Roane State (3-0) before securing a win over Bevill State (3-2). They would then fall to Snead State (3-1) in their conference opener.

The majority of the Lady Bison roster are freshmen. with the only player returning being Morgan Godwin. Godwin finished her freshman campaign with 259 assists, 86 kills, 94 digs, 25 aces and 26 blocks. 

How to Keep Up:

All three matches will air on the Andrew College Digital Network YouTube Page and fans can keep up the Manatees on all social media platforms.

Livestream Link - https://www.youtube.com/@AndrewCollegeDigitalNetwork/featured

Social Media - 

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/SCFvolleyball

Twitter - https://twitter.com/SCFVolleyball?s=09

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/volleyball_scf/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D