By Pat Clines

Cuthbert, GA - The SCF volleyball team (3-1) wrapped up a successful road trip in Georgia as they swept host Andrew College (0-4) 3-0 (25-12, 25-9, 25-13) before sweeping Southern Union State CC (2-5) 3-0 (25-13, 25-8, 25-17) at Jinks Gymnasium. 

"We knew that these were two teams that we have never played before and expected them to be smaller teams," said head coach Lynn Burnett.  "We expected them to be scrappy and out of system techniques. My focus for them was before we came to the gym that they are mindful of them, but be ready to expect what they have on the court and they managed that extremely well, even after the match while seeing every player play at least one set to see how they managed and they managed really the sets really well."

"The team's mindset was amazing," said sophmore Bailee Perry. "Everyone had great energy and was smiling on and off the court every single second."

"I thought the mindset after both matches was very focused," said sophomore Amee Beedle. "We came in ready to do our jobs, didn't play to the other teams' level and kept it positive throughout each set. There was a lot of good teamwork and trust on the court today."

"I thought the team did a great job with being consistent and staying focused," said freshman Teresa Briefeneder. "Even though there were times in the games where we were ahead of our opponents in points, we kept playing our game and didn't let our opponents get us out of our rhythm."

"It's always hard to play against someone you never had played before," said freshman Elise Bakken. "I think we did a great job with staying focused on doing the job. I think we had a lot better connection with each other on the court than before and started to get used to playing together. I really had a great time on the court in both matches with my team."

SCF vs Andrew College:

Starting in the first set, the Manatees kept in control even after a couple of setbacks and were able to seal the first set after a Tiger ball-handling error. Heading into the second set, the Manatees found themselves up 7-5 until Perry came in to serve. While she was serving, the Manatees went on a 13-0 run thanks to three Tiger errors, two blocks each by sophomore Emily Lyons and freshman Kat Tallo, kills by Perry, Lyons, Tallo and sophomore Caealan Cook and three Perry aces. The Tigers secured their next four points before Cook and freshman Teresa Briefeneder sealed the set with back-to-back kills.

Heading into the third set, the Manatees faced a little bit of a rut by being down 8-5, but once again they turned it around with an 8-0 run thanks to two Tiger errors, kills by Perry and freshman Charlotte Herman and three straight aces by freshman Morgan McGuire before Herman sealed the final set with a kill for the sweep.

Perry would lead the way in the first match as she finished with a double-double of 10 kills, 11 digs, three aces and a block.

"I felt like the energy was completely different," said Perry. "We all are playing for each other and I honestly had so much fun laughing on the court and getting so hyped up when we had monster blocks, kills and digs."

Cook and Herman followed with seven kills each. Cook added two digs and a block, while Herman added two blocks (one solo), one assist and six digs to the mix. Briefeneder, who made her debut, rounded out the order with five kills, two aces, seven digs and two blocks (one solo).

In setting, McGuire lead the way with 14 assists, four aces and six digs, while freshman Elise Bakken had 12 assists, four aces and four digs.

Sophomores Kloe Pinto (five digs), Isabella Rebimbas (five digs), Katie Keefe (three kills, two digs and one block), Rachel Carroll (six digs) and Emily Lyons (one kill, one ace, two digs and three blocks) and freshmen Aleksandra Wrobel (three kills and two digs), Kat Tallo (one kill, one dig and four blocks (one solo)) and Alanna McCaughey (one assist and one dig) also contributed in the match.

SCF vs Southern Union State:

In the second match against Southern Union State, the results in the sets were similar in the way compared to the match against Andrew and with a 8-0 run in the second set. In the end, the Manatees were able to seal the deal with the sweep.

Wrobel would be the leader offensively as she finished with a match-high 11 kills, eight digs, one assist and two blocks (one solo). Briefeneder would follow with nine kills, two assists, three digs and a block, while Rebimbas rounded out the order with six kills and six digs.

In setting, Bakken lead the way with 21 assists, one ace and five digs, while McGuire finished with seven assists, one ace and eight digs.

Defensively in the back row, Carroll lead the way with 11 digs and two assists, while Beedle added seven digs to go along with two kills and match-leading four aces.

Herman (four kills, four digs and one block), Keefe (four kills, one assist and three digs), Tallo (two kills, one assist, one block and six digs), Cook (one kill and two digs) and Lyons (one ace and six digs) also contributed in the match.

After SCF's matches, Southern Union State defeated Andrew College 3-1.

Notes:

• The 3-1 start for the Manatees is their best outing to start the season since the 2015 season.

"My thoughts for that are 'get ready because there is more to come'," said Burnett. "It was a good opportunity for different attackers to connect with their setters and start to run the things we did in practice and had a chance to implement that very. There were some monster kills and monster blocks today to go along with crisp, clean passes and clean play on defense. I'm glad we started it off this way."

"It's always nice to have a great preseason and start with victories, but it doesn't mean that it will be easy," said Bakken. "We need to play each match, each set and each point step by step. I can't wait to see what this team can do for this season."

"I am very impressed on how we are doing in the beginning of the season," said Perry. "Our team this year is full of talented young women who are vey competitive. We are all playing because we love this sport with a passion and that's what I think is different about this year. Nobody is playing because they are forced and even when things get rough we find a way to make it back up."

"I think it's awesome we are setting the tone for the rest of the season positively," said Beedle. "It's always a good sign when the team has good chemistry this early on and hopefully it only grows stronger throughout the rest of the season."

"We have a really strong team this year and are able to play at a really high level which contributed to two amazings wins today," said Briefeneder. "Now we are going to build up on that and keep going in the right direction."

• This was the official season debuts for Briefender and Beedle. Briefeneder was unable to play the first two matches, while Beedle, who transferred from Vincennes University, sat out last season