Beach Volleyball Finishes 7th in Nationals

avares, Fla - The #10 seed SCF beach volleyball team (4-18) closed out their season and portion of the NJCAA National Beach Volleyball Championship at Hickory Point Beach in Tavares. The Manatees would finish seventh out of 12 teams in the nation with a split falling to #2 seed Richard Bland College (21-8) 3-1 before defeating #12 seed Bryant and Stranton (VA) (7-16) 3-0.

"What a rush and a thrill it was for us to step onto the court and dominate," said head coach Lynn Burnett. "I'm very proud of this group of ladies and their growth on and off the court this year. It was a bittersweet ending for us and hard to leave without any medals, but it definitely leaves me hungry for next year and make sure that we do a good job of recruiting up and ready to take the teams by storm next year."

#1 seed Palm Beach State (23-4) were named the NJCAA Beach Volleyball Championship after defeating fellow conference member St. John's River State (8-9-2) 3-0. St. John's River State was named the runner-up.

Angelina Botolino (Palm Beach State, Lola Vidamour (Palm Beach State), Cassidy Casey (St. John's River) and Alina Schneider were named NJCAA All-Americans as the #1 pairs of both teams.

SCF vs Richard Bland:

The Manatees were able to get one point on the board as sophomore Amanda Goudinho Pizzol and Yeva Serdiuk would defeat sophomore Karagyn Durco and freshman Sarah Heaththe 21-17, 21-15 at the #1 pair. However, it was all they could produce as the Manatees fell at the #3, #4 and #5 pairs. As a result, the Manatees were moved down to the consolation bracket of the tournament to play for seventh place.

#4 seed Mesa CC would eventually defeat #12 Bryant and Stratton (VA) 3-0.

SCF vs Bryant and Stratton (VA):

Serdiuk and Goudinho Pizzol would take the first match over sophomores Briana Macias and Isabella Delarosa Sanchez at the #1 pair by a score of 21-9, 21-15. Sophomore Shelby McGee and freshman Kayla Gentry would follow with a 21-13, 21-17 win over freshmen Kassandra Menard and Isis Romine at the #2 pair spot before freshmen Remi Hebert and Caelan Cook defeated freshmen Raelyn Johnson and Victoria Mills 21-15, 21-13 at the #3 spot.

Final Standings:

1. Palm Beach State

2. St. John's River State

3. Lake Sumter State

4. South Mountain

5. Richard Bland

6. Mesa

7. SCF

8. Bryant and Stratton (VA)

9. Spartanburg Methodist

10. Gaston

11. Trinidad State

12. Bryant and Stratton (WI)