Region 8 Release        NJCAA National Poll

Leesburg, Fla. – The 2022 season is fully underway for the Lake-Sumter State College volleyball team as they head into the third week of the season and the opening of Sun-Lakes Conference play.

Alyssa Guarino took the headlines on Tuesday with the announcement she had been selected as the Region 8 Defensive Player of the Week. The freshman from New Smyrna Beach had a stellar week averaging 5.1 digs per set over 13 sets. Guarino reached double-digit digs in 2 out of 3 matches she appeared in last week with 28 coming against Santa Fe College.

Two other announcements came out on Tuesday as well. Both the Region 8 Coaches Poll and the NJCAA National Poll were released. St. John's River State College (5-3) earned the top spot in the Region 8 Coaches Poll after opening the preseason tied with LSSC. The Lakehawks received one first place vote and sit second behind the Vikings and one spot ahead of Gulf State (4-0).

When it comes to the National Poll, Lake-Sumter boasts a resume that includes knocking off two top 20 teams in the country and their only loss in DII coming at the hands of No. 2 Cowley CC (KS). This week, LSSC jumps up two spots from No. 15 to No. 13. St. John's fell two spots to No. 16. Gulf Coast jumped into the poll at No. 18 after previously being unranked.

Lake-Sumter will begin conference play this week with Palm Beach State College and South Florida State College.