"I'm very happy and very proud of the team's determination, resilience and ability to work together," said head coach Lynn Burnett. "Even with very few changes to the lineup to see if they made any mistakes, we can fix it quick and they did a good job of that."

 

"Today, I thought we all did really well," said sophomore Isabella Rebimbas. "We really played well together and we were raw with so much energy on the court together."

 

"I think we played very well," said sophomore Bailee Perry. "While we did have some errors, we were able to clean it up really well and the energy was really good and everyone had hustle."

 

"I thought we all played as one team today," said sophomore Shelby Pillow. "Everyone worked extra hard to put the ball down and away whether it was with tips, dumping or a great kill that got us a point."

 

"I thought our energy was super high and we were positive with each other," said freshman Alanna McCaughey. "Everyone was cheering each other on and we were really consistent. It was a lot of fun."

 

The first set saw a slight struggle, but the Manatees remained in control as they kept themselves together and took the first set after an attack error by by the Gyrenes.

 

In the second set, back row defense played the part for the Manatees thanks to Rebimbas, Perry and sophomore Kloe Pinto would get several digs that played key for them. In the end, the Manatees would take the second set off of another Gyrene attack error.

 

In the third set, with freshman Morgan McGuire serving, the Manatees would go on a 12-0 run, one of their biggest runs of any set to start, thanks to kills by Rebimbas, Perry and freshman Katrina Tallo, a solo block by Tallo, two Gyrene attack errors and three aces by McGuire before the Gyrenes secured their first point of the set. It would not faze the Manatees at all as they kept the Gyrenes in single digits in the set before Pillow sealed the win with a slide kill to the front left corner.

 

Perry would come away as the leader offensively as she finished with a double-double of a career-high 12 kills, 12 digs, one ace and one assist.

 

"I felt really good," said Perry on her playing. "It was tough to adjust to playing on the right side because of my role as an outside hitter, but I accepted it and I came in very strong with my teammates and it worked."

 

"I'm very proud of Bailee," said Burnett on Perry. "I've been pushing her to utilize more tools in her toolbox and to come in hard and wait for the opportunities to tip and then crank the ball with everything she had and today she really did that."

 

Rebimbas ane Pillow would follow with nine kills each. Rebimbas, who was one kill shy of a double-double, added 13 digs, three aces and one assist while Pillow added one dig and one block.

 

"I felt good," said Rebimbas. "It's good to be out there with my team with the energy we produced."

 

"I felt pretty good on how I played today," said Pillow. "I think that I should give a lot of credit to my setter, Morgan (McGuire), because she really helped me when I came in loud and hard so she could gave me great sets.

 

In setting, McGuire would finish with her third 30 assist game as she finished with 30 assists, one kill, a season-high five aces and seven digs. In all three non-conference matches, the Tampa native finished with 95 assists, 10 aces, 19 digs and seven kills.

 

Defensively, apart from Perry and Rebimbas' digs, Pinto finished with six digs, two aces and two assists. The Jacksonville native finished with 32 digs, six aces and sevn assists. McCaughey would finish third with nine digs and one ace.

 

Tallo (one kill, one dig and one block), Briefender (two kills) and Lyons (two kills, one ace and six digs) also contributed in the match.

 

Notes:

With her one block, Pillow now has 92 career blocks and is now tied with Adelene Jideofor (92, 2020-21) for 11th all-time. She needs one to surpass Jideofor.

Other Sun Lakes Scores:

St. Pete College (2-13, 1-11 Sun Lakes South) shutout Ave Maria JV 3-0 at Hal Chasey Gymnasium prior to SCF playing Ave Maria. The Lady Titans will take on Trinity College of Florida (3-12) Monday night, October 16 at 6 pm.

 

 

#18 Gulf Coast State (13-4, 8-2 Sun Lakes North) defeated Lake Sumter State (12-9, 7-5 Sun Lakes North) 3-2. The Commodores will take on St. John's River State Saturday afternoon, October 14 at 1 pm.

 

#8 Pensacola State (22-1, 10-0 Sun Lakes North) defeated St. John's River State (19-11, 6-5 Sun Lakes North) 3-2. The Pirates will take on Lake Sumter State Saturday afternoon, October 14 at 1 pm.

 

Sun Lakes Conference Standings:

North - 

1. #8 Pensacola State (22-1, 10-0)

2. #18 Gulf Coast State (13-4, 8-2)

3. Lake Sumter State (12-9, 7-5)

4. St. John's River State (19-11, 6-5)

5. Florida State College at Jacksonville (6-12, 3-7)

 

South - 

1. Pasco Hernando State (12-8, 7-4)

2. SCF (12-7, 5-6)

3. Palm Beach State (5-16, 5-6)

4. South Florida State (5-10, 3-9)

5. St. Pete (2-13, 1-11)