2012 Season Preview with SCF Volleyball Head Coach, Carmine Garofalo
SCF Volleyball Season Preview
Manatees start season in Iowa against 4 nationally ranked
team
SCF Announces 2012 Volleyball
Schedule
Manatees start season in Iowa against 4 nationally ranked
teams
BRADENTON, Fla.—Head volleyball coach Carmine announced the Manatees' 2012 schedule Wednesday (August 10). The Manatees will play at total of 34 matches, including one out of state tournament in Iowa and the SCF Invitational tournament at Hal Chasey Gymnasium.
"I'm very excited about our 2012 schedule,” Garofalo said. “It will be a challenging one and one that will allow us to compete against some of the top teams in the country."
The 2012 slate features 4 NJCAA National Championship Tournament teams from 2011, including national runner-up Western Wyoming. The schedule also sees SCF face three Florida conference champions; State Champions Miami Dade, Polk State College and College of Central Florida, currently ranked 3rd in the nation. The Manatees return 5 starters from last season and 10 talented newcomers.
Prior to the regular season, the Manatees will host a tri-match scrimmage at Hal Chasey Gymnasium on Saturday, Aug. 18, with games at 12pm and 4PM. Admission to this event is free.
SCF begins the regular season Aug. 23-25 with a road trip to Council Bluffs, IA. They will participate in the Iowa Western Tournament, where the Manatees will face Iowa Lakes, Western Wyoming, Eastern Arizona, Dodge City and host Iowa Western Community College.
"We open up with some very tough matches at Iowa Western, playing teams that finished 2nd, 6th and 8th at the D-I National Championship last year. This will give us a terrific opportunity to see where we are at as a program and more importantly, give our talented athletes an understanding of what it takes to compete strongly at the national level," Garofalo said.
A weekend later, the Manatees will participate in the HCC Labor Day tournament Aug. 31-Sept. 1, featuring St. Petersburg, Brevard, Palm Beach State and host Hillsborough Community College.
Manatees will play their first home game on September 5th when they host Ave Maria University for Volleyball Appreciation Night. High and middle school players wearing school jerseys will receive free admission. Game time is 7PM.
Conference play starts a week later when the Manatees host 2011 conference champions Polk State College on Sept. 11 and St. Petersburg College on Sept. 13.
On Sept. 21-22, the Manatees will host 7 teams from around the state as well as Illinois for the second annual SCF Volleyball Invitational. Play starts on Friday at 12pm against USCAA National Champs, Florida College. Start time for the second game is 4PM against Brevard College. On Saturday (22), the Manatees play Palm Beach State at 10AM. They conclude the tournament with College of Central Florida, ranked 3rd in the nation in the most recent NJCAA National Poll.
“We have three good tournaments with quality opponents and play in the Suncoast Conference, the most competitive conference in the State,” Garofalo said. “The challenging schedule will help our athletes grow quickly and compete at an exciting level, with the goal of qualifying for the State Finals”.
The final home game for the Manatees will be on sophomore night on Oct. 25th against State Champions Miami Date College. “I could not think of a better way to complete our schedule, honor our sophomores and prepare for the State Tournament, than by playing one of the top teams in the country,” Garofalo said.
For the complete season schedule, times and other information about Manatees Volleyball, visit www.scfmanatees.com. Any coach, teacher or club director wishing to bring their members as a group may contact assistant coach and event coordinator, Cassie Rodriguez at rodrigc@scf.edu to reserve special seating and group admission.